Kintarō Hattori (服部金太郎, November 21, 1860 – March 1, 1934) was a Japanese businessman and one of the first and most important Japanese

watchmaker A watchmaker is an artisan who makes and repairs watches. Since a majority of watches are now factory-made, most modern watchmakers only repair watches. However, originally they were master craftsmen who built watches, including all their par ...

s in history, as well as the founder of

Seiko , commonly known as Seiko ( , ), is a Japanese maker of watches, clocks, electronic devices, and semiconductors. Founded in 1881 by Kintarō Hattori in Tokyo, Seiko introduced the world's first commercial quartz wristwatch in 1969. Seiko is ...

, one of the world's largest manufacturers of watches. He was a permanent council member of the

Japanese Red Cross The is the Japanese affiliate of the International Red Cross. The Imperial Family of Japan has traditionally supported the society, with the Empress as Honorary President and other imperial family members as vice presidents. Its headquarters ...

Early life

Kintarō Hattori was born in Uneme-cho,

Kyōbashi, Tokyo is a neighborhood east of Tokyo Station in Chūō, Tokyo, Japan. It is one of the city's oldest commercial districts, although it has since been eclipsed by Ginza to the south and Nihonbashi to the north. Kyobashi, together with Nihonbashi and ...

, on November 21, 1860, to a well-established family of merchants. At age thirteen, he was initiated in commercial and technical training and was engaged the following year by Kobayashi Denjiro, one of the main watch and clock traders in Japan, where he began his first internship at the Kameda Clock Shop. In 1877, he opened in the

Ginza Ginza ( ; ) is a district of Chūō, Tokyo, Chūō, Tokyo, located south of Yaesu and Kyōbashi, Tokyo, Kyōbashi, west of Tsukiji, east of Yūrakuchō and Uchisaiwaichō, and north of Shinbashi. It is a popular upscale shopping area of Tokyo ...

area.

Career

In 1881, Hattori established his first business , opening his own watchmaking shop. At 25 years old, K. Hattori initiated trade with the Swiss firms based in Yokohama, focusing on wholesaling and retailing of imported Swiss timepieces. After almost two decades of retailing Swiss watches from foreign firms, Hattori decided to manufacture his own watches locally, establishing a watchmaking factory in Tokyo called . Following the great success of his first Japanese manufactured timepieces, he traveled to Europe to inspect and purchase machinery tools to keep up with western technology and productivity. With great success, Hattori returned to Japan with new watchmaking equipment and several new production lines were born as a consequence. At age 35, he launched a line of pocket watches called the "Timekeeper" and just a few years later released his first line of alarm clocks, in 1899. By 1905, Hattori had expanded his trading operations all over Japan as well as Shanghai and Hong Kong, and becoming the largest watch and clock dealer in Japan. In 1913, when Hattori was 53 years old, Seikosha manufactured and introduced the first Japanese wristwatch: the "Laurel." In 1917, K. Hattori & Co. was converted to a joint-stock corporation (currently Seiko Group Corporation). In 1924, the "

" brand was launched. His company later revolutionized watchmaking with the introduction of the first quartz movement, becoming one of the world's largest watch manufacturers. Hattori died on 1934, aged 73, in

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

, Japan.

Legacy

Kintarō Hattori was one of the key figures in establishing the watchmaking industry in Japan. His career accomplishments include founding the first watchmaking factory in Japan named "Seikosha", in 1892. Kintarō Hattori also founded the watch and jewelry shop K. Hattori (''Hattori Tokeiten'' in Japanese) in the

area of Tokyo, Japan, currently named Seiko Group Corporation and globally known as

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hattori, Kintaro 1860 births 1934 deaths Businesspeople from Tokyo Japanese watchmakers (people) People from Chūō, Tokyo People of the Meiji era People of the Industrial Revolution