Japanese Typewriters
The first Japanese typewriter was invented in 1915 by Kyota Sugimoto. By the 1920s these typewriters had begun to be used by Japanese businesses. The San Jose history blog gives a description of how they worked:
The Gatunka blog notes, "The beginning of the end for Kanji typewriters was heralded by the arrival of affordable digital word processors in 1984. By the mid 90s, personal computers also began to become popular in Japanese homes, and the age of kanji typewriters came to an end."
The letter tray, which Sugimoto called a “type-nest” in the patent application, is an array of 70 X 35 cells. Each cell holds a metal letterpress-style type, for a total of 2450 characters. Fifty characters were used for numbers, punctuation, etc. and the 2400 remaining Kanji characters satisfied most business requirements, even though the Japanese language uses over 100,000 unique characters. Knowledge of about 2400 characters is required for a high school diploma in Japan, so this is a reasonable compromise for this typewriter.
The paper cylinder and typing mechanism are on ball-bearing rollers, forming a very complex mechanical marvel. Using a Bakelite knob, the operator can move this mechanism left to right or up and down above the type-nest and position the striker over the selected character. Pressing down on the knob causes a pin under the type-nest to push up the selected type block, which is grasped by the striker from above. The striker rotates the type block 90 degrees over a small ink wheel and then strikes the paper. The striker then returns to its original position, dropping the type block back into the type-nest.
The paper cylinder and typing mechanism are on ball-bearing rollers, forming a very complex mechanical marvel. Using a Bakelite knob, the operator can move this mechanism left to right or up and down above the type-nest and position the striker over the selected character. Pressing down on the knob causes a pin under the type-nest to push up the selected type block, which is grasped by the striker from above. The striker rotates the type block 90 degrees over a small ink wheel and then strikes the paper. The striker then returns to its original position, dropping the type block back into the type-nest.
The Gatunka blog notes, "The beginning of the end for Kanji typewriters was heralded by the arrival of affordable digital word processors in 1984. By the mid 90s, personal computers also began to become popular in Japanese homes, and the age of kanji typewriters came to an end."
The Whitewright Sun - June 14, 1928
source: Wikimedia Commons
source: Wikimedia Commons
Comments
This got me curious to see one in action. I can't find a Japanese version, but here's a Chinese version that works on the same principal.
https://youtu.be/M77DxXRI014
And an electric version.
https://youtu.be/DRKAUDHk_MM
45 to 50 words a minute? WHAAAA????
https://youtu.be/M77DxXRI014
And an electric version.
https://youtu.be/DRKAUDHk_MM
45 to 50 words a minute? WHAAAA????
Posted by PupTentacle on 01/15/17 at 09:54 AM
@PupTentacle -- I suspect their 50 words per minute is equivalent to a professional typist hitting 80 wpm in Latin letters. Each letter takes longer to select, but each one is a word (sort of, in a way, kinda -- there are radicals and other marks, but it's basically a different approach: we construct words with letters while in Japanese each word is a different 'letter').
These machines are brilliant! The parts have the intricacy usually associated with watchmaking but have to be exceptionally sturdy. At that period, only the Japanese could have produced them at reasonable cost.
These machines are brilliant! The parts have the intricacy usually associated with watchmaking but have to be exceptionally sturdy. At that period, only the Japanese could have produced them at reasonable cost.
Posted by Phideaux on 01/15/17 at 12:25 PM
PupTentacle -- great videos! So to use a Japanese typewriter it seems that you've got to be staring directly at the plate holding all the characters. It's not something you could do blindfolded. Unlike Roman alphabet typing.
Posted by Alex on 01/15/17 at 02:05 PM
My mother was a newspaper proofreader. One of her favorite similés was "crazier than a Chinese typesetter.
Posted by tadchem on 01/15/17 at 04:52 PM
@Alex I can't imagine anyone being able to touch type in either Japanese or Chinese. I assume that "classes" of words are sectioned off on the plate to make finding them easier. Either way, pretty amazing. More amazing is that, until today, I'd never given a moments thought to a Japanese typewriter.
Posted by PupTentacle on 01/15/17 at 05:54 PM
You'd have thought using only hiragana for type-written text would be an easier solution. Sure, it looks kludgy, but so does monospaced text in the Roman alphabet.
Posted by Richard Bos on 01/16/17 at 02:51 PM
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Category: Inventions | Patents