Nobutoshi Kihara
Encyclopedia
Nobutoshi Kihara was an engineer
at Sony
, best known for his work on the original Walkman
cassette-tape player in the 1970s and was commonly called Mr. Walkman in the press.
Born in Tokyo, Kihara attended Waseda University
, then joined Sony's predecessor, Tokyo Telecommunications Engineering Corporation in 1947 as a new university graduate. He retired from Sony in 2006.
While at Sony, he worked on Japan
's first magnetic tape recorders, portable tape recorder
s, music stereo
systems, Betamax video
, digital camera
s, a compact cassette magazine-type recorder and Japan's first transistor radio. In 1964, a team led by Kihara developed the CV-2000
, the world's first VTR intended for home usage. He also was instrumental in creating cassette versions of the VTR (Video Tape Recorder),established the basis for the U-matic
system. In 1981, was involved in the development of the Mavica digital still camera, which used floppy disks to record images, and developed the Mavigraph color video printer in 1982.
In 1988, Mr. Kihara jointly established the Sony-Kihara Research Center with Sony, becoming the center's president. His tutoring methods were dubbed the "Kihara School," and turned out many of Sony's future engineers
Masaru Ibuka
, a Sony co-founder, referred to Mr. Kihara as "a godlike person," because he would create a prototype of a concept he and Mr. Ibuka had discussed, often within a day.
Nobutoshi Kihara died at 5:20 am on 13 February due to heart failure. He was 84.
Engineer
An engineer is a professional practitioner of engineering, concerned with applying scientific knowledge, mathematics and ingenuity to develop solutions for technical problems. Engineers design materials, structures, machines and systems while considering the limitations imposed by practicality,...
at Sony
Sony
, commonly referred to as Sony, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan and the world's fifth largest media conglomerate measured by revenues....
, best known for his work on the original Walkman
Walkman
Walkman is a Sony brand tradename originally used for portable audio cassette, and now used to market Sony's portable audio and video players as well as a line of Sony Ericsson mobile phones...
cassette-tape player in the 1970s and was commonly called Mr. Walkman in the press.
Born in Tokyo, Kihara attended Waseda University
Waseda University
, abbreviated as , is one of the most prestigious private universities in Japan and Asia. Its main campuses are located in the northern part of Shinjuku, Tokyo. Founded in 1882 as Tokyo Senmon Gakko, the institution was renamed "Waseda University" in 1902. It is known for its liberal climate...
, then joined Sony's predecessor, Tokyo Telecommunications Engineering Corporation in 1947 as a new university graduate. He retired from Sony in 2006.
While at Sony, he worked on Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
's first magnetic tape recorders, portable tape recorder
Tape recorder
An audio tape recorder, tape deck, reel-to-reel tape deck, cassette deck or tape machine is an audio storage device that records and plays back sounds, including articulated voices, usually using magnetic tape, either wound on a reel or in a cassette, for storage...
s, music stereo
STEREO
STEREO is a solar observation mission. Two nearly identical spacecraft were launched into orbits that cause them to respectively pull farther ahead of and fall gradually behind the Earth...
systems, Betamax video
Betamax
Betamax was a consumer-level analog videocassette magnetic tape recording format developed by Sony, released on May 10, 1975. The cassettes contain -wide videotape in a design similar to the earlier, professional wide, U-matic format...
, digital camera
Digital camera
A digital camera is a camera that takes video or still photographs, or both, digitally by recording images via an electronic image sensor. It is the main device used in the field of digital photography...
s, a compact cassette magazine-type recorder and Japan's first transistor radio. In 1964, a team led by Kihara developed the CV-2000
CV-2000
CV-2000 was one of the world's first home video tape recorders , introduced by Sony in August, 1965. The 'CV' in the model name stood for 'Consumer Video' and was also known as Portapak. This was Sony's domestic format throughout the 1960s....
, the world's first VTR intended for home usage. He also was instrumental in creating cassette versions of the VTR (Video Tape Recorder),established the basis for the U-matic
U-matic
U-matic is an analog recording videocassette format first shown by Sony in prototype in October 1969, and introduced to the market in September 1971. It was among the first video formats to contain the videotape inside a cassette, as opposed to the various Reel-to-Reel or open-reel formats of the...
system. In 1981, was involved in the development of the Mavica digital still camera, which used floppy disks to record images, and developed the Mavigraph color video printer in 1982.
In 1988, Mr. Kihara jointly established the Sony-Kihara Research Center with Sony, becoming the center's president. His tutoring methods were dubbed the "Kihara School," and turned out many of Sony's future engineers
Masaru Ibuka
Masaru Ibuka
Masaru Ibuka was a Japanese electronics industrialist. He co-founded what is now Sony....
, a Sony co-founder, referred to Mr. Kihara as "a godlike person," because he would create a prototype of a concept he and Mr. Ibuka had discussed, often within a day.
Nobutoshi Kihara died at 5:20 am on 13 February due to heart failure. He was 84.