Mechanical Engineering Heritage (Japan)

The Mechanical Engineering Heritage (Japan) (機械遺産, kikaiisan) is a list of sites, landmarks, machines, and documents that made significant contributions to the development of mechanical engineering in Japan. Items in the list are certified by the Japan Society of Mechanical Engineers (JSME) (日本機械学会, Nihon Kikai Gakkai).

Myriad year Japanese clock, Heritage No. 22

Overview

The Mechanical Engineering Heritage program was inaugurated in June 2007 in connection with the 110th anniversary of the founding of the JSME. The program recognizes machines, related systems, factories, specification documents, textbooks, and other items that had a significant impact on the development of mechanical engineering. When a certified item can no longer be maintained by its current owner, the JSME acts to prevent its loss by arranging a transfer to the National Science Museum of Japan or to a local government institution.

The JSME plans to certify several items of high heritage value over years.

Categories

Items in the Mechanical Engineering Heritage (Japan) are classified into four 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.

Each item is assigned a Mechanical Engineering Heritage number.

Items certified in 2007

Sites

Landmarks

Collections

Documents
  • No. 24: JSME publications from the early days of the society, (published in 1897, 1901 and 1934). – Tokyo
  • No. 25: "Hydraulics and Hydraulic Machinery", lecture notes by Professors Bunji Mano and Ariya Inokuchi at Imperial University of Tokyo (1905). – Tokyo

Items certified in 2008

Sites

Collections

Items certified in 2009

Sites

Landmarks
  • No. 33: Minegishi Watermill, (installed in 1808, in operation till 1965). – Tokyo

Collections
  • No. 34: The Master Worm Wheel of the Hobbing Machine HRS-500, (machining by Hobbing machine of Rhein-Neckar from Germany in 1943). – Shizuoka Prefecture
  • No. 35: Locomobile, The oldest private Steam Automobile in Japan, (one of eight imported from Locomobile Company of America in 1902, failured in 1908, discovered in 1978 then only boiler was replaced and operable in 1980). – Hokkaidō
  • No. 36: Arrow-Gou, The oldest Japanese-made Car, (one of Japanese fundamental vehicle technology made in 1916). – Fukuoka Prefecture
  • No. 37: British-made 50 ft Turn Table, (imported from Ransomes & Rapier made in 1897, but installed location was unknown before moved in 1941 then further moved to Ōigawa Railway in 1980, in operation. Two others are deemed also imported and still in operation in other locations, these historical details are not known). – Shizuoka Prefecture

Items certified in 2010

Landmarks
Carousel El Dorado in Toshimaen. Heritage No. 38

Collections
Electric vehicle TAMA, Heritage No. 40.

Items certified in 2011

Landmarks
Mashū Maru, Heritage No. 44.

Collections

Items certified in 2012

Landmarks

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.[5][6] 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.[7] System is controlled by mechanical relay and DC motor. – Tokyo

Collections

Items certified in 2014

Landmarks

Collections

Documents

Items certified in 2015

Landmarks
Railway bascule Bridge “Suehiro Kyoryo”

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 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

Collection

Items certified in 2017

Site
Kachidoki bridge over Sumida River, Tsukiji to/from Tsukishima
  • No. 84: Mechanical equipment full set in the bascule bridge at Kachidoki bridge. Kachidoki Bridge (勝鬨橋), 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 (booster 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 (奥田トンネル) 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 (1970–1976). – 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 (Square Fingertip Type). Knitting glove for field army, Japanese term Gun-te (軍手 literally: army-hand) 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 (1975–1984). – 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 (万年自働活字鋳造機 (lit.:Ten thousand years life automatic type casting machine)) 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 (conduit gates), then installed in the world record deepest near the bottom of the lake of dam completed in 1945. The water discharge system (the discharge volume per gate is 120 m3/s) 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 (中野貫一) 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

Items certified in 2020

Collection & Documents
  • No. 100: Educational Equipment for Mechanical Engineering of Imperial College of Engineering/Related Documents of C.D. West. The dawn of modern engineering in Japan is coincidently the same period of textbooks published in Western Europe. Imperial College of Engineering (工部大学校, Kōbu Daigakko) in Tokyo is believed the first university worldwide bearing the name engineering and succeeded by Tokyo Imperial University (東京帝國大學, Tōkyō teikoku daigaku). A Number of Technical drawing, tool, Mechanism, model, lecture note and educational material used by Charles Dickinson West, Henry Dyer and others are preserved and displayed. - Tokyo

Collection
  • No. 101: ASAHIFLEX I・IIB, MIRANDA T, ZUNOW, NIKON F Single-lens reflex (SLR) cameras, which advanced Japanese cameras to the world standard. The five Japanese Single-lens reflex camera models, with more convenience and robustness, in 1950s, Asahi Flex I, IIB, Miranda T, Zunow and Nikon F, revolutionary opening new era of reputation and wording from Camera is German made to Camera is Japan made. - Tokyo
  • No. 104:Continuously Variable Transmission/Ring-Cone Type. The ring cone (RC) Continuously Variable Transmission (CVT) invented by Manabu Kashiwabara (学 柏原, Manabu Kashiwabara) in 1952. Power transmission take place through oil fluid without solid parts contact of power input cone to output cone, so that no wear of each cone. CVT is widely used on conveyor belt, machine tool and other area due to simple structure and low cost. It functions no slip and 2 to 3% or less rotation rate fluctuation by automatic each cone contact pressure-regulating mechanism. – Kyoto

See also
  • List of historic mechanical engineering landmarks
  • List of historic civil engineering landmarks

References
  1. Buckton machine:See fig.3 and its description.
  2. The History of Japanese Mechanical Calculating Machines
  3. "Collections: American Art: Lion, from the El Dorado Carousel, Coney Island, Brooklyn". Brooklyn Museum. Retrieved 2010-07-26.
  4. The carousel King, Hugo Haase
  5. American Bidet
  6. "ウォシュレットG 機械遺産" [Washlet G certified on Mechanical Engineering Heritage (Japan)]. Yomiuri Shimbun (in Japanese). Tokyo. 2012-07-23. p. 34.
  7. Rotopark, Bajulaz S.A. Geneva Switzerland Archived 2013-07-29 at the Wayback Machine

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