The company was founded in January 1938 by Nakagawa Kenzō (中川幹三) as Kyōei-sha (共栄社), based in Nippori (日暮里), Tokyo. [1] Nakagawa, a former engineer of Konishiroku , obtained financial support from Minagawa Shōten . [1] The company was renamed G.K. Shōwa Kōgaku (㈾昭和光学) at the end of 1938. [1] The com...