Olympus History

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• History of Cameras
• Olympus Stories
  • About Olympus
    • Origin of Our Name
    • Corporate Logo
  • Founding of Olympus
  • History of Microscopes
  • History of Endoscopes
  • History of Diagnostic Systems
  • Good Design Awards
• Milestones
• Special Lecture

• Olympus History Top

1919-

The first corporate logo was "TOKIWA", not "OLYMPUS". "TOKIWA" was derived from Tokiwa Shokai, the company which the founder, Takeshi Yamashita, had worked for. Tokiwa Shokai held an equity stake in Takachiho Seisakusho and was responsible for marketing Takachiho products. The logo reads "TOKIWA TOKYO." The "G" and "M" marks above are believed to be the initials of, Goro Matsukata, the president of Tokiwa Shokai.

1921-

The Olympus brand was introduced in February 1921. This logo was used for microscopes and other products. Brochures and newspaper ads for cameras also sported this logo. The "OLYMPUS TOKYO" logo is still in use today.

There was a period in which OIC was used instead of TOKYO in the logo. OIC stood for Optical Industrial Company, which was a translation of Olympus' Japanese corporate name at that time. This logo was used for the GT-I and GT-II endoscopes, among others.

1970-

This logo, used from 1970 to 2000, was designed to give impressions of quality and sophistication.

2001-

The yellow line underneath the logo is called the "Opto-Digital Pattern" and it represents light and boundless possibilities of digital technology. It symbolizes dynamic and innovative nature of Opto-Digital Technology and Olympus Corporation. This logo is called the Communication Symbol of Olympus and it represents Olympus' brand image.

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