Masterpieces 1960's | Panasonic Design

Electrification boom: in the late 1950's: Japan's continuous economic growth brought a boom in sales of household electrical appliances, and heavy electrical equipment manufacturers entered the field, leading to stiff price competition. New appliances were appearing and making homes more pleasant and efficient. All consumers wanted a television, washing machine and refrigerator, or the "three holy grails" as they were popularly known. Konosuke had foreseen the dawn of the electrification age and worked to strengthen his sales network and stabilize his market share by establishing a close-knit network of retailers.

First post-war overseas sales company, Matsushita Electric Corporation of America, established: In 1959, ready to expand business activities abroad, Konosuke founded Matsushita Electric Corporation of America in New York as its first overseas sales company. He urged his managers to adapt to their new host nation, and to apply themselves to providing products that Americans would appreciate.

First post-war overseas manufacturing company, National Thai Co., established: In 1961, the company began to provide technical assistance to other countries and construct plants abroad with the aim of expanding its operations on a global scale. The company established the National Thai Company for battery production and provided the necessary technology. National Thai was the company's first overseas plant to be built since the end of the war.

1962

Wiring accessory Triple Tap WH2013

A Long-selling Power Tap Born from Design Considerations

The latter half of the 1950s brought the electrification of Japanese households, with the “Three Sacred Treasures” — the television, washing machine and refrigerator — leading the way. With demand for electrical outlets outpacing supply in the home, power taps became essential devices. The wiring accessories of the day were generally designed by engineers, and the power taps were clunky, square-shaped objects that bulged awkwardly out from the wall.
The Triple Tap provides an excellent example of the extent to which a product can change when a designer gives serious consideration to its development. Adding a slight slant to the sides of the cover reduced the overall bulkiness and made it easier to insert the plugs. The socket slots were given scooped entrances, moreover, to allow the plugs to glide in naturally. Since the shape of the tap permitted easy molding, productivity was high. Furthermore, the two-tone coloring combining a white cover with a chocolate brown base gave the product a compact appearance.
The basic design of this super-long-selling product has remained unchanged throughout the more than half-century since its release. In 1980, it was awarded a Good Design Long Life Design Award by Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI).

1964: Good Design Award
1980: Good Design Long Life Design Award
1996: Good Design Super Collection

1963

Stereo Console Asuka SE-200

A Stereo with Luxury Furniture Styling

Up through the first half of the 1960s, “ensemble” stereo systems integrating a turntable, a tuner, an amplifier and a pair of speakers into a single unit were mainstream products in Japan. These were pricey, luxury items that were placed in rooms where people entertained guests in their homes. The Asuka was a masterpiece of the genre. When the stereo was opened by sliding the top covers to either side like sliding doors, an auto-changer turntable and radio tuner came into view. The speakers were hidden by crosspieces set in a log-house pattern on the front of the wood-grained body, and the entire console was supported by four beech wood legs that looked like table legs.
No mere imitation of furniture, this elegant console really was a piece of fine furniture. Its clean-cut, linear design made it an attractive addition to either Japanese-style or Western-style rooms. Designed as a luxury furniture stereo for the parlor, it was a popular and highly acclaimed product.

1964: Good Design Award
1996: Good Design Super Collection

Five-Day Work Week begun: In April 1965, Matsushita Electric became Japan's first major manufacturer to introduce a five-day work week. Matsushita created a stir in the media when he announced the move five years earlier in January 1960. The reasons, the founder stated, were two-fold. It would help achieve the same high productivity that foreign companies enjoyed while simultaneously improving the quality of life of Matsushita employees.
The time for the actual changeover came as the company was battling with the effects of an economic slump that began in 1964, a situation which was reflected in Konosuke Matsushita's remarks. However, the company promoted the program with the slogan "One day study, one day rest," and the company gradually adjusted its operations to a five-day work week. This policy contributed to higher employee morale and productivity.

1965

Television Saga TC-96G

The TV as Furniture: a Design Concept Born in Japan

Until the mid-1960s, the televisions manufactured in Japan were heavily influenced by the American-style, screen-in-a-box designs of the day. Launched into this environment, the Saga was a breakthrough product that established a uniquely Japanese television-as-furniture style.
The Saga's design was the fruit of a careful examination of the actual circumstances of televisions in Japanese households. The design team found that the television occupied a central position in Japanese living rooms, and that various items were frequently placed on top of it. This recognition gave birth to the idea of designing a television as a piece of furniture.
Taking clues from the simple designs of Scandinavian furniture, the Saga's designers chose valuable natural walnut and beech wood for the cabinet. They referred to the Western sideboard for a design that enabled items to be placed easily on top and decided to add an overhang to the Saga's top board.
The Saga's design was received with enthusiasm by Japan's consumers, and Japanese television design was to follow the style it established throughout the latter half of the 1960s and into the 1970s.

1965: Good Design Award
1996: Good Design Super Collection

1965

Vacuum cleaner MC-1000C

The Vacuum Cleaner That Ushered in the Plastic Era

In a day when the typical vacuum cleaner was a simple, cylindrical object with a metal casing, this machine broke new ground by making the most of plastic's versatile shaping potential to create the elegantly flowing, curved surfaces that define the aesthetics of plastic. Since the wheels on conventional vacuum cleaners were fixed in place, moreover, the machines tended to tumble over when pulled around corners. With its front wheel designed to turn left or right, however, the MC1000C could follow the user's twists and turns effortlessly, significantly reducing the stress caused by vacuuming.
The innovations extended to the production process as well. Unlike vacuum cleaners that were constructed of sheet metal, whose machine parts had to be inserted in predetermined order beginning on one side of the cylindrical body, the MC-1000C's body was divided into left and right pieces that were combined after the machine parts had been inserted into one side by simply screwing the other side in place. Productivity was greatly increased as a result of this method, which was made possible by the use of plastic.
This product that heralded the era of plastic set a modern record for vacuum cleaner production with a total of 630,000 units manufactured.

1965: Good Design Award
1996: Good Design Super Collection

Fully-automated component insertion machine “Panasert”: This machine represented the start in 1969 of automated electronic mounting devices and components in Japan, the foundation for the company's business in mounting machines.
The original random access system was improved and became a direct random access system, in which taping was transferred to the insertion head so that a component was inserted without being freed. This made for rapid progress in the mounting tact time and the reliability. The system became the leader in the field of mounting machines.