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VISION

TACHIKARA, the sports ball brand of Japan was established in Tokyo in 1915. Having devised the process that became the foundation of sports ball manufacturing techniques used today, we have created the official “match balls” for many of the organizations that control world sports, such as the Olympic Games.

TACHIKARA celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2015. Our vision is to match the rapidly growing creativity of the current sport scene and we to constantly offer original products that excite the world’s top players as well as the fans.

A world where all the players who love the sport call TACHIKARA “my ball”,This is the lifestyle TACHIKARA is aiming for.

DESIGN & QUALITY

  • Throughout our long history TACHIKARA has been working together with the players to develop and improve our products. This is not going to change. The way we construct our balls is not only to enhance the performance of players but also improve their visual designed and tailor them to the specific way the balls are to be used.

  • TACHIKARA products are manufactured in the same factories that make the “Official Balls” for the associations that govern various ball sports worldwide. Itaru Iimuro, the founder of TACHIKARA gained the respect of manufactures all over the world as “a man who revolutionized the making of game balls” he was also respected for making the quality of production in ball factories around the world remarkably high and those same factories are now our important partners.

  • In today’s sports scene, creativity is key. To allow us to offer unprecedented designs and enable new uses for our balls, TACHIKARA is always striving to develop better manufacturing processes and materials. To think “outside the box” and to make styles of ball no one has even thought of. We think that is TACHIKARA’s mission.

  • Pushing the limits of the traditional sports ball business TACHIKARA in collaboration with other genres and artists are always trying to maximize the hidden potential that a ball has. We strive to offer new types of ball that one has ever experienced before.

HISTORY

Since it was established as a pioneer of the Japan’s sports equipment industry in 1915, TACHIKARA invented the method of manufacturing sports balls that is still used successfully today.

Also through our experience of being adopted as the official ball maker for 4 Olympic Games, we have continually challenged the status quo and offered new types of sports balls better than those available before.

Here we are proud to introduce the 100 years of TACHIKARA’s history.

  • 1915
  • 1934
  • 1950
  • 1964
  • 1968
  • 1976
  • 1980
  • 1985
  • 1987-1998
  • 2013
  • 2014

  • 1915年

    Iimuro Toyozaburo, who would later be called “a pioneer in field of game balls”, established the Iimuro Sports Equipment Factory that was the predecessor of TACHIKARA. As a leading player in Japan’s sport’s equipment manufacturing industry, he developed businesses in downtown areas of Tokyo, such as Nihonbashi, Hongo and Uenoikenohata before the Second World War. As an “official ball” maker, he distributed not just in Tokyo, but all around Asia by building branches in western Japan, China and Korea.

  • 1934年

    The company changed to its new name TACHIKARA.

    Origin of the name:
    The name TACHIKARA comes from the name of a god in Japanese myths, “Amenotajikarao”, who symbolizes the strong muscles of a powerful man who is brave and righteous, he was known as the “male god with the strong hand of heaven” and he is the symbol of the company.

  • 1950年

    Itaru Iimuro, the younger brother of Toyozaburo’s, gained the respect of manufactures all over the world as “the man who revolutionized the making of sports balls” when he invented the “seamless ball”. This leather ball with no seams was a huge innovation in the industry.

  • 1964年

    TACHIKARA was certified as the official ball maker of the Tokyo Olympics.

  • 1968年

    TACHIKARA was certified as the official ball maker of the Mexico Olympics.

  • 1976年

    TACHIKARA was certified as the official ball maker of the Montreal Olympics.

  • 1980年

    TACHIKARA was certified as the official ball maker of the Moscow Olympics.

  • 1985年

    Acquired the official license for the NBA.

  • 1987-1998年

    Sold over a million balls a year as a manufacturer and distributor for SPALDING, which was very rare at that time.

  • 2013年

    Established “TACHIKARA HOLDINGS LIMITED” as a re-born company to challenge the current ways of thinking on the balls used in sports. As the environment surrounding ball sports is rapidly changing in the 21st century we will make new balls to meet the needs of fans around the world today. We started “TACHIKARA CUSTOM” as a project in collaboration with brands, designers, leagues and events that have influence in various industries.

  • 2014年

    TACHIKARA succeeded in developing an original manufacturing method which, allows freeform graphic designs on every panel of a natural leather ball, that has the same qualities as the official balls of the sports associations (Process patent pending).