Mechanical Engineering Heritage (Japan)

Overview

Categories

1. Sites: Historical sites that contain heritage items.
2. Landmarks: Representative buildings, structures, and machinery.
3. Collections: Collections of machinery, or individual machines.
4. Documents: Machinery-related documents of historical significance.

Items certified in 2007

Sites

• No. 1: Steam engines and hauling machinery at the Kosuge Ship Repair Dock,. – Nagasaki Prefecture

  Landmarks

• No. 2: Memorial workshop and machine tools at Kumamoto University,. – Kumamoto Prefecture

  Collections

• No. 3: Forged iron treadle lathe. – Aichi Prefecture
• No. 4: Industrial steam turbine,. – Nagasaki Prefecture
• No. 5: 10A rotary engine. – Hiroshima Prefecture
• No. 6: Honda CVCC engine. – Tochigi Prefecture
• No. 7: FJR710 jet engine. – Tokyo
• No. 8: Yanmar small horizontal diesel engine, Model HB. – Shiga Prefecture
• No. 9: Prof. Inokuchi's centrifugal pump,. – Aichi Prefecture
• No. 10: High frequency generator. – Aichi Prefecture
• No. 11: 0-Series Tōkaidō Shinkansen electric multiple units. – Osaka Prefecture
• No. 12: Class 230 No.233 2-4-2 steam tank locomotive. – Osaka Prefecture
• No. 13: YS11 passenger airplane. – Tokyo
• No. 14: Cub Type F, Honda bicycle engine . – Tochigi Prefecture
• No. 15: Chain stitch sewing machine for the production of straw hats. – Aichi Prefecture
• No. 16: Non-stop shuttle change automatic loom, Toyoda Type G. – Aichi Prefecture
• No. 17: Hand operated letterpress printing machine. – Tokyo
• No. 18: Komatsu bulldozer G40. – Shizuoka Prefecture
• No. 19: Olympus GT-I. – Tokyo
• No. 20: Buckton universal testing machine. – Hyōgo Prefecture
• No. 21: Mutoh Drafter manual drafting machine, MH-I. – Tokyo
• No. 22: Myriad year clock,. – Tokyo
• No. 23: The Chikugo River Lift Bridge. – Between Fukuoka and Saga Prefecture

  Documents

• No. 24: JSME publications from the early days of the society,. – Tokyo
• No. 25: "Hydraulics and Hydraulic Machinery", lecture notes by Professors Bunji Mano and Ariya Inokuchi at Imperial University of Tokyo. – Tokyo

  Items certified in 2008

Sites

• No. 26: Sankyozawa hydroelectric power station and related objects,. – Miyagi Prefecture
• No. 27: Hydraulic lock and floating steam crane, Miike Port. – Fukuoka Prefecture

  Collections

• No. 28: “Entaro” bus,. – Saitama Prefecture
• No. 29: Mechanical telecommunication devices. – Iwate Prefecture
• No. 30: Mechanical calculator,. – Fukuoka Prefecture
• No. 31: Induction motor and design sheet. – Ibaraki Prefecture

  Items certified in 2009

Sites

• No. 32: Mechanical Device of Sapporo Clock Tower,. – Hokkaidō

  Landmarks

• No. 33: Minegishi Watermill,. – Tokyo

  Collections

• No. 34: The Master Worm Wheel of the Hobbing Machine HRS-500,. – Shizuoka Prefecture
• No. 35: Locomobile, The oldest private Steam Automobile in Japan,. – Hokkaidō
• No. 36: Arrow-Gou, The oldest Japanese-made Car,. – Fukuoka Prefecture
• No. 37: British-made 50 ft Turn Table,. – Shizuoka Prefecture

  Items certified in 2010

Landmarks

• NO. 38: Carousel El Dorado of Toshimaen, the oldest in Japan and oldest class in worldwide, produced by :de:Hugo Haase |Hugo Haase in 1907, travelled in Europe, then moved to Steeplechase Park of Coney Island, New York in 1911, operated till 1964, then purchased, refurbished and operate in Toshimaen since 1971. – Tokyo
• No. 39: Revolving stage and its slewing mechanism of old Konpira Grand Theatre. – Kagawa Prefecture

  Collections

• No. 40: Electric vehicle TAMA, produced by Tachikawa Aircraft Company Ltd in 1947, to overcome oil shortage after World War II. The car is with single motor of 36V, 120A, run 65km by single charge, max. speed 35 km/h. The second model in 1949 run 200 km. Used as taxi in Tokyo. Production had stopped due to cost of batteries by the time of the Korean War. – Kanagawa Prefecture
• No. 41: The first made in Japan forklift truck with internal combustion engine, max. load 6,000 pound, in 1949, learned from Clark Material Handling Company's 4,000 pound type. – Shiga Prefecture
• No. 42: Takasago and Ebara type Centrifugal Refrigerating machine. – Kanagawa Prefecture
• No. 43: Automated Ticket Gate, OMRON and Kintetsu jointly studied from 1964, model PG-D120 operated from 1973 after prototype evaluation from 1967. – Kyoto Prefecture

  Items certified in 2011

Landmarks

• NO. 44: Seikan Train Ferry and Moving Rail Bridge. The ferry service started between Aomori Station of Honshu and Hakodate Station of Hokkaido in 1908, and became train ferry service from 1925 till Seikan Tunnel operated in 1988. Landmark is both Hakkoda Maru and moving rail bridge at Aomori Station, and Mashū Maru and moving rail bridge at Hakodate Station. – Aomori Prefecture and Hokkaidō

  Collections

• NO. 45: Type ED15 Electric Locomotive. This direct current locomotive is the first Japan-made one in 1924 and operation till 1960. It is functionally equal to imported electric locomotive with specification of maximum speed 65 km/h with 820 KW by four main motors. – Ibaraki Prefecture
• NO. 46: Silk reeling machines of the Okaya Silk Museum, several types of silk reeling machines. Machines are; 2 silk reeling machines out of 300 machines imported by French engineer Paul Brunat for Tomioka silk mill which operated from 1872, Japan made machine based on French and Italian technologies, and some other Japan made improved and innovated machines. – Nagano Prefecture
• NO. 47: Toyoda Power Loom. Looms power by steam engine type and electric motor types invented by Sakichi Toyoda in 1897 and patented next year. Machine's productivity is 20 times high and 1/20 of low in machine cost compared to imported machines, widely used throughout Japan. – Aichi Prefecture
• NO. 48: Hydraulic Excavator UH03 is the first evolved type, made in Japan in 1965, having double hydraulic pumps and double valves with bucket size 0.35 m³ and engine output 58 hp. The excavators made in Japan before UH03 are single hydraulic pump and single valve type under technical tied up with Europe. – Ibaraki Prefecture
• NO. 49: Zipper chain machine is YKK Group first made in Japan machine in 1953, evolved from imported machine from U.S. in 1950. – Toyama Prefecture
• NO. 50: Ticket Vending Machine is the first train ticket vending machine. Developed in 1962, it consists of approximately 250 relays, and can print train tickets for various destinations. It accepts coins, checks them for authenticity, sorts and stores them, and makes change. The improved type made in 1969 was installed in Bankokuhaku-chūōguchi station of Expo '70 in Suita, Osaka – Nagano Prefecture.

  Items certified in 2012

Landmarks

• NO. 51: Tokyu 5200 series made in 1958 is the first railcar applying stainless steel on the exterior aim at no maintenance required of periodical painterwork. Tokyu 7000 series railcar made by Tokyu Car Corporation in 1965 is the first all stainless steel railcar including framing. The framing technologies learned and improved under technical tie-up with Budd Company.- Kanagawa Prefecture
• NO. 52: Yoshino Ropeway opened on March 12, 1929. The oldest surviving aerial lift line in Japan and oldest class in worldwide. – Nara Prefecture

  Collections

• NO. 53: Oldest in Japan England style 9 foot length lathe made by Ikegai Corp., the first machine tool manufacture of Japan, in 1889 for own use. – Tokyo
• NO. 54: Ricoh desktop copier model 101 is the first Japanese blueprint document reproduction machine using the diazo chemical process made in 1955. This copier with the newly innovated photographic paper brings no need to rinse in washing water and no odor operation. – Shizuoka Prefecture
• NO. 55: Washlet G released in 1980 is the first type innovated by Toto. The original model for therapy of hemorrhoid were imported from American Bidet company in 1964 for Japanese market. Toto opened new market as the electric toilet seats for general use. – Fukuoka Prefecture

  Items certified in 2013

Landmarks

• No. 56: Mechanical Car Parking System ROTOPARK, made by Bajulaz S.A. company of Switzerland, was imported in 1976 and installed as parking system in underground at south exit of Shinjuku Station. System is controlled by mechanical relay and DC motor. – Tokyo

  Collections

• NO. 57: Dawn of Japanese Home Electric Appliances made by Toshiba. Early years of Shōwa period 1930 to 1931, refrigerator and vacuum cleaner made based on General Electric model, and washing machine produced under technology introduction from Thor washing machine of Chicago-based Hurley Electric Laundry Equipment Company. – Kanagawa Prefecture
• NO. 58: Former Yokosuka Arsenal's steam hammer. Six hammer were imported from Netherlands in 1865 Keiō. After Meiji Restoration, Imperial Japanese Navy, then after World War II, United States Fleet Activities Yokosuka utilized 0.5 ton work load capacity type had been used till 1971 and 3 ton type had been used till 1996. In 2002, hammer were returned to as the property of Japan, and display in Léonce Verny Memorial House. – Kanagawa Prefecture
• NO. 59: Okuma Non-round Plain bearing and GPB Cylindrical Grinder developed by Okuma Corporation in 1954, 700 units produced by 1969, and contributed for Japanese precision mechanical industries. – Aichi Prefecture
• NO. 60: Japan's First 16mm Film Projector. Hand drive projector, study from imported model, made in 1927, and motor drive type developed in 1930 by Elmo company limited. – Aichi Prefecture
• NO. 61: Japanese Automata YUMIHIKI-DOJI, Karakuri ningyō, created by Tanaka Hisashige. – Fukuoka Prefecture

  Items certified in 2014

Landmarks

• No. 62: Soil and Tractor Museum of Hokkaido. Display Tractor and Agricultural machinery innovation in Hokkaido mostly after World War II, and the resultant of artificial soil improvement technologies and agriculture managing philosophy. – Hokkaido
• No. 63: Museum of Agricultural Technology Progress. Imported and Japan made 250 Agricultural machineries powered by human, animal labor then or engine from late Meiji period to late 1950s to early 1960s. Display includes Japan originated rice transplanter and straw rope producer. – Saitama Prefecture
• No. 64: Telpher of the Port of Shimizu, operating in 1928 to 1971, height 8.4m, total rail length 189.4m, lift up weight 2 to 3 Tonne driven by electric motor, and used to imported wood discharge. – Shizuoka Prefecture

  Collections

• No. 65: Japan-made Snow Vehicles which reached the South Pole in 1968. Three snow vehicles participated round trip 5200km for 5 months, but one vehicle KD503 was engine troubled and thrown away on outward. The prototype KD501 was not used for the trip, and KD502 is preserved in Showa Station. Trip contributed to find out first meteorite in Antarctic. – KD604 is in Tokyo and KD605 is in Akita Prefecture
• No. 66: Japan-made Wristwatches which Showed Remarkable Technological Innovations. Japan adopted Western style timekeeping system from traditional Japanese time system in 1873. Founder of Seiko, Kintaro Hattori, started in 1982 and produced pocket watch in 1985, first Japanese wrist watch Seiko Laurel in 1913, watch Grand Seiko, in 1960, was accurate as Switzerland Chronometer watch then the world's first quartz clock wristwatch Seiko Quartz-Astron 35SQ in 1969. – Tokyo
• No. 67: Double Housing Plaining Machine: Made by Akabane Engineering Works, Ministry of Industry. Double Housing Plaining Machine, 6 foot type machine, with three emblem Chrysanthemum Flower Seal, made by Akabane Engineering Works of Ministry of Industry in 1879. Ministry of Industry produced Japan made various machine tool for industrial innovation aiming to modernization. – Aichi Prefecture
• No. 68: Fuji Automatic Massage Machine, mass production type invented by Fuji in 1954. – Osaka Prefecture

  Documents

• No. 69: The Collection of Drawings for Japanese Machines. 288 drawings used, in early Shōwa period first edition in 1932 and revised in 1937, to let engineers learn the ability of Japanese machine the same or not inferior to imported machine. Drawing include 16 industrial field of machines such as measuring devices, steam boiler, steam engine, steam turbine, internal combustion engine, automobile, rolling stock, water wheel, pump, mechanical fan, gas compressor, cryocooler, Machine tool, crane, haulage, spinning and weaving machine. – Tokyo

  Items certified in 2015

Landmarks

• No. 70: Railway bascule bridge ":ja:末広橋梁|Suehiro Kyoryo". The bridge constructed in December 1931 and still in function as of 2015. The dimension is length 58m, width 4 m, balance scale 24 tons, movement girder length 18 m and weighs 48 tons. – Mie Prefecture

  Collection

• No. 71: Automatic Encrusting Machine Model 105. High viscosity material such as dough, for Manjū and wagashi of Japan and bread worldwide, is traditionally encrusting by human hand. The automatic encrusting machine is invented as model 101 in 1963, and improved model 105 in 1966, then it had been sold 1838 set in 8 years and contributing world food cultures in effective making. – Tochigi Prefecture
• No. 72: Automatic Transmission of "MIKASA". The first Japanese Automatic transmission with torque converter developed in 1951 and front-wheel drive car :ja:ミカサ |MIKASA produced over 500 cars in 1957 to 1960. – Tokyo
• No. 73: Japan Made First Coin counter. The coin counter asked by mint and produced in 1949 and delivered in February 1950. Imported large size of coin counter was used before this improved type with small size, simple structure and more accurate counting. Commercial type put in market in 1953. Selectable various coin size and counting ability contributed to lessen banking job for coin counting and Japan made full-line vending machines. – Hyogo Prefecture
• No. 74: KOBAS Stationary Suction Gas Engine and Charcoal Gas Producer Unit. Wood gas engine with magneto ignition system had been started to develop in 1928 and produced in 1936. Less resource of petroleum during and after World War II in Japan, wood gas engine had been widely used by about 1955. – Hiroshima Prefecture
• No. 75: Small Once-through Steam Boiler Type ZP. This once-through Steam drum type boiler less than 10 Atmospheric pressure and 10 m² had been usable without license by change of law Industrial Safety and Health Act in 1959 then 70% shared in small boiler market. – Ehime Prefecture
• No. 76: All Electric Industrial Robot "MOTOMAN-L10". MOTOMAN-L10 is first all electric drive industrial robot developed in 1977. Before this, Hydraulic drive system robot used with less accurate positioning, moving range and speed. – Fukuoka Prefecture

  Items certified in 2016

Landmarks

• No. 77: Matsukawa Geothermal Power Plant. Operated in 1966, the first commercial power plant in Japan. To avoid erosion and corrosion of steam turbine blade from sulfur, turbine is made of chromium, molybdenum and vanadium steel without nickel. Initial power was 9,500ｋW, then improved to 23,500ｋW in 1993. – Iwate Prefecture

  Collection

• No. 78: SUBARU 360-K111. Japanese government proposed "national car" concept in 1955, then produced in 1958. Nicknamed tentoumushi means coccinellidae comparable to Volkswagen Beetle. – Gunma Prefecture
• No. 79: Double Expansion Marine Steam Engine. Main engine, 97 horsepower, of small wooden guard ship Tachibana maru in port of Kobe since 1911. Ship used as training ship by Kobe University till 1964. – Saitama prefecture
• No. 80: Simple Cash register Zeni-ai-ki. Produced in 1916 in lieu of imported expensive cash register. Attractive naming Zeni-ai-ki, literal meaning is money-matching-machine instead of traditional calculation by soroban, sold more than 10,000 units by 1927, well sold and widely used till further innovated type appeared after war over in 1945. – Tokyo
• No. 81: Tatsuno's Patent Gasoline Measuring Equipment Type No.25. First Japan made fuel dispenser in 1919. Implemented safety patented mechanism well worked and no fire in time of 1923 Great Kantō earthquake. – Kanagawa Prefecture
• No. 82: Gate-type Car Wash Machine. Gate shaped Japanese first car wash machine with horizontal and two side vertical rotating brush type and wash up a car in three minutes developed in 1962. Before this, car wash is manual brushing with waterjet in 1950s. – Aichi Prefecture
• No. 83: Optical Instruments of the Kashinozaki Lighthouse. Japan first one of eight Western style rotating flashing light lighthouse technically advised by Richard Henry Brunton operate in 1870. This is the first stone building out of 26 lighthouse advised and guided by him. – Wakayama Prefecture

  Items certified in 2017

Site

• No. 84: Mechanical equipment full set in the bascule bridge at Kachidoki bridge. :eo:Ponto Kaĉidoki|Kachidoki Bridge, bascule type bridge, the pivot axis to river other side pivot axis over Sumida River, is 51.6 m the longest length in Japan, and total length of the bridge is 246.0 m, constructed in 1940, movable operation ended in 1970, and classified Important Cultural Property in 2007. The one side of movable bridge part weight is 1,000 tonne with counterweight of 1,000 tonne, both river side total movable bridge part weighs 4,000 tonne in symmetry. The open or close speed is controlled by Ward Leonard control with combination of AC motor and DC motor. – Tokyo
• No. 85: The longitudinal flow ventilation system by jet fan of Okuda Tunnel. The first eight units with jet fans having an inner diameter 630mm and length 4.7m were imported from German Voith and well tested, data evaluated, then applied in Okuda Tunnel of Kitakyusyu Expressway in 1966, and used until tunnel width widen and changed to one-way traffic in 1975. This jet fan air ventilating direction is along length of tunnel and ventilating technology founded this application contributed more than eighty percent of tunnels of mountains in Japan. Two units is preserved. – Osaka Prefecture.

  Collection

• No. 86: Electric car of Japan's first subway. Tokyo Metro Ginza Line, Ueno to Asakusa opened in 1927. The electric car, length 16m × width 2.6m × height 3.5m and weight 35.5 tonne, constructed with imported basic major parts and applied mechanical systems of ATS used in overseas. – Tokyo
• No. 87: Deep Submergence Research Vehicle SHINKAI 2000. Shinkai 2000 is the succession manned machine after Japanese first manned SHINKAI. – Kanagawa Prefecture
• No. 88: Green Sand Molding Machine Type C-11. The first Japanese sand casting molding machine capable to make 450mm×300mm×height 200mm mold, instead of traditional handmade mold. This machine was own developed in 1927, by refer to imported machine from United States. – Aichi Prefecture
• No. 89: Multihead Weigher ACW-M-1. Japanese first patented weighting machine, for various weight of number of bell pepper sorted and grouped by CPU to thirty single selling volume of 150±2g in a minute without damage bell pepper, invented in 1973. Innovated Multihead Weigher series machine sold more than 30,000 units, and widely used for packing of snack, agricultural products, sausage, frozen food, pharmaceutical drug, machine component and others with major market share. – Shiga Prefecture
• No. 90: Full Automatic Glove Knitting Machine. Knitting glove for field army, Japanese term Gun-te used to protect hand since Meiji period produced by hand knitting or semi-automatic. Full automated machine with sinker knitting method invented in 1964, producing single piece, or half of pair, of glove in 2 minutes and 15 seconds, and single worker monitors and controls 30 machines. – Wakayama Prefecture

  Items certified in 2018

Collection

• No. 91: Historical Machine Tools collected by Nippon Institute of Technology. 232 units of machine tools are displayed in the museum. These units indicate historical transition of machine tools in Japan, from import, make with replica, then by technical license agreement, in period of mid Meiji to Shōwa 50s. – Saitama Prefecture
• No. 92: Airless Spray Painting Equipment. Under United States patent license, first made in Japan equipment with some improvements put on market in 1959. – Aichi Prefecture
• No. 93: CRT Funnel Pressing Machine. Cathode ray tube of television production in Japan started under technical license from United States. The front face part and centrifugal casted rear funnel part produced separately, and weld combined in early stage, after the funnel press machine appeared as new methodology, its production time, welding accuracy, quality and productivity was improved. The market share of Japan made cathode ray tube of 24 inch size and over was almost 100 percent at the end of 1980s. – Siga Prefecture
• No. 94: Type Casting Machine of Newspaper Museum. Museum of Kumamoto Daily News displays various newspaper publishing machines, and one of them is Japan made first Man-nen jidou katsuji cyuzoki reflecting number of patents put in market in 1934 capable to cast 10.5 point with speed of 90 Japanese letter types in minute, used till 1982. – Kumamoto Prefecture

  Items certified in 2019

Landmarks

• No. 95: Conduit Gate of Tase Dam. Japan communicated frequently in detail and learned from U.S. and adding own Japanese technology to improve U.S. made four high-pressure slide gates, then installed in the world record deepest near the bottom of the lake of dam completed in 1945. The water discharge system from the lake, it became foundation of technologies to apply other dams thereafter. – Iwate Prefecture
• No. 96: Oil Mining and Refine System at Kanazu Oilfield. Crude oil drilling and mining attempted before Meiji era, however not commercialization due to collapsible stratum. Kanichi Nakano succeeded in manual drilling, mining and refining and production volume 150,000 kiloliters/year in 1916 and he was called oil king of Japan. Further mechanical method deployed, however it closed in 1998 and the museum opened to display facilitated machines and materials in 2008. – Niigata Prefecture
• No. 97: Steam Locomotives Preserved at Kyoto Railway Museum and Related Objects. 23 steam locomotives used until 1984, its maintenance facility and records are preserved. 8 locomotives out of 23, railway roundhouse and railway turntable are still operational. – Kyoto Prefecture

  Collection

• No. 98: Dawn of Japanese Passenger Elevator. The elevator imported from U.S. with basic elements, cage, guide rail and emergency stop system, were further studied then full push button automatic type elevator developed in 1915, and deployed in Japan. Displaying an elevator and related Japanese own process history of technological studies and improvements. – Fukui Prefecture
• No. 99: Monorail for Steep Slope MONORACK M-1. The simple cable transport system, on steep slope hills and mountains of cultivating mikan orchard in area of Seto Inland Sea, was widely used. In 1966 the newly developed monorail system capable of transporting crops in slope angle up to 40 degree and to curve left and right directions flexibly. This monorail is effectiveness in more free design for installation and laborsaving. – Okayama Prefecture