Who was Takuma Kajiwara?

tromboads · 10-11-2012, 10:20 PM

Yes great thread! And well done on the cash raised

Now I was under the impression the "Takumer" name of lens was given in honour of his brother, as they too drew in a painterly style. Can any one confirm this glorious internet rumour? :P

must find the reference where that came form. ..

#edit. here was the link... "shrugs"

http://forum.mflenses.com/viewtopic.php?t=51475&start=15

Quote:

Taking it in a slightly different direction; M-42 is a threaded mount (screw mount). K is a bayonet mount.

Many or perhaps almost all M mount Pentax lenses have a metal focus ring and an all metal body. Focus operation across almost all M models is buttery smooth - akin to $2k and $4k Leica lenses or even better. They feel very high quality in the hand and mounted on the camera.

Most or all K mount Pentax lenses use a rubber focus ring. The aperture ring is always stiff and unsmooth unless it's nearly worn out. Focusing operation is not very smooth - nothing at all like the M mount lenses. Pretty much the same as MF Nikkors, non-L canon FD, or Oly lenses. Actually Oly is often a little smoother. They don't feel all that high quality in hand nor on camera - but pretty average.

In terms of IQ most M mount pentax lenses have a very creamy and "painterly" bokeh. There are five general kinds of M mount pentax Takumars: Takumar, Auto-Takumar, Super Takumar, SuperMultiCoated Takumar, and SMC Takumars. Almost without exception the coatings are:

Takumar - Single Coated
Auto-Takumar - Single coated
Super Takumar - 3 coating layers
SuperMultiCoated Takumar - 7 coating layers
SMC Takumars - 7 coating layers.

I think it's 7 anyway but it's been awhile since I read it so it might be 6 or 8 - but I think I'm remembering right that it's 7.

Many, perhaps most Auto-Takumars and Takumars have a noticeable amount of color fringing (LoCA, etc.) tho usually not too much purple fringing (PF) around high contrast edges. IMO the way it's rendered in the image it actually adds to the character of the lens - most are still very sharp and the OOF color gradient fringes make them all the more painterly. Flares are very defined and pronounced - which can be a very nice effect!

Super Takumars are about the same thing but less (almost no) PF and flares are less defined and pronounced.

SuperMultiCoated Takumar are about the same again but much less LoCA and flares are dead and dull like most other multi-coated lenses. Lens reflections are about all that's left for using flares creatively.

SMC Takumars begin to use rubber focus rings and inferior dampening grease - very near to K mount pentax models. IQ is very slightly different than SuperMultiCoated Takumars.

With K-mount lenses they started dropping the Takumar insignia. "Takumar" was the name of Asahi's Founder's brother: Takuma Kajiwara. He was a little famous for his oil and acrylic portraits (paintings). And since the early Takumars uniquely rendered a "painterly" bokeh the name seemed to apply very well. By the time SMC and K-Mount lenses were being made this painterly rendering was gone and so it seems fitting that the painter's name was dropped as well. Later in some Ka-mount lenses the Takumar name was used again as the lenses they applied the name to were designed to recapture that painterly look. Whether they actually do recapture that look or not you'll have to buy one and find our for yourself.

If I wanna be creative Takumar and Super-Takumar are preferred. Very much preferred! They look pretty awesome mounted on the camera too! If I want good, standard or typical looking, vanilla photographs then I use one of my SMC Takumars or one of my SMC Pentax K-mount lenses. I have a few Ka-mount Takumars too but haven't used them enough to really comment intelligently.

If you wanna know about the various series of lenses they made from about 1975 or 1980 (after K) then wiki is a good source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pentax_cameras#K_Series IMHO, there's nothing significant between them - various qualities and many attempts at AF and then on to Digital. Not of much interest for me. I like MF lenses.

Last edited by tromboads; 10-12-2012 at 01:43 AM.

**RichardS** · 10-12-2012, 11:12 PM - **1 Like**

Originally posted by Mike Cash

$15 total received so far.

If anyone else wants to chip in, please do make a note of it here in the thread so we don't run the danger of collecting more than the actual expenses, which all told won't run over $30. I'm perfectly fine with covering the rest myself, or even the entire amount as this is something I would do anyway.

I think I must be having a senior's moment. Mike, I couldn't see how to donate.

Richard.

Mike Cash · 10-13-2012, 02:33 AM

Originally posted by RichardS

I think I must be having a senior's moment. Mike, I couldn't see how to donate.

Richard.

Via PayPal to my email address: "mikecash at gmail dot com"

Mike Cash · 10-14-2012, 11:54 PM - **1 Like**

$15 received, thank you very much.

The full amount to cover this year's flowers and tomb clean-up expenses has been collected. Thanks very much to everyone.

Mike Cash · 11-10-2012, 06:46 PM - **1 Like**

Posting live from the Kajiwara family tomb in Fuchu City.

Not as bad as last year, mostly just a few fallen leaves to clean up. Someone, presumably from the family, had been by at least once since last year. The flower holders held a couple of bundles of cut greenery. I presume these were chosen because lacking blossoms they would remain fresh appearing for longer. They're in good shape and can't have been here very long. Whoever came may have been unable to do the cleaning up. As the greenery is still fresh, rather than tossing it out and replacing it I decided to add our flowers and it looks nice.

**Douglas_of_Sweden** · 11-11-2012, 07:04 AM - **1 Like**

Originally posted by tromboads

Yes great thread! And well done on the cash raised

Now I was under the impression the "Takumer" name of lens was given in honour of his brother, as they too drew in a painterly style. Can any one confirm this glorious internet rumour? :P

must find the reference where that came form. ..

#edit. here was the link... "shrugs"

Pentax K - Pentax M

I'm sorry I have not had time to work with this thread, despite that I have a ton of new info on Takuma Kajiwara. Eventually I will catch up.

But to answer this question: The standard version is that Takuma Kajiwara's nephew, then head of Asahi Optical Co, named the lenses after his uncle, the famed photographer, maybe hoping to get some advantage from this on the US market, maybe just because they were close. But I've also discovered that Takuma explained in an interview that "Takuma" means "to grind or to polish". So there may be a double meaning since Asahi and the Kajiwara family from the start in 1919 was proud to be "lens polishers". I've been told that Japanese generally love if they can name something with a double meaning.

**Douglas_of_Sweden** · 11-11-2012, 07:09 AM

Originally posted by Mike Cash

Posting live from the Kajiwara family tomb in Fuchu City.

Not as bad as last year, mostly just a few fallen leaves to clean up. Someone, presumably from the family, had been by at least once since last year. The flower holders held a couple of bundles of cut greenery. I presume these were chosen because lacking blossoms they would remain fresh appearing for longer. They're in good shape and can't have been here very long. Whoever came may have been unable to do the cleaning up. As the greenery is still fresh, rather than tossing it out and replacing it I decided to add our flowers and it looks nice.

Well done Mike!
Sorry I missed to donate this time. Been in bad shape recently and I'm now just waiting for some surgery on Tuesday

Once that is over I hope I will find the time to start posting the new material that I've been promising now for half a year or so...

tromboads · 11-11-2012, 04:24 PM

Ahhhh cheers... Thanks for the reply

Mike Cash · 11-11-2012, 09:17 PM

I wrote a brief note to the family, double-bagged it in plastic to protect it from the rain, and tied it to the shrub adjacent the main stone. I explained what we did last year and this year and that Douglas has been doing some very good work researching things. I included my address, phone numbers, and email and I hope that the next time the family comes around we might hear from them directly. Whether it is a little or a lot, I'm sure they must have some info and artifacts that would be interesting and informative. I also said that I plan to do next year's cleanup on November 10th.

I will try to post up a few pictures from this year in a few days.

**Jacquot** · 11-12-2012, 04:28 AM

Great work, Mike. I hope you can make contact with them.

Mike Cash · 12-12-2012, 07:36 PM - **2 Likes**

Sorry for the long delay in getting the photos ready; I am running way behind and also had to give priority to a huge batch of dance photos.

All
Pentax K-5
Super Takumar 24/3.5

Pioneer · 12-14-2012, 12:05 AM

Very nice shots of the tomb Mike. It is nice to see these. Thanks for your time and your work.

Mike Cash · 12-14-2012, 04:19 AM

Originally posted by Pioneer

Very nice shots of the tomb Mike. It is nice to see these. Thanks for your time and your work.

Thank you very much, I am glad to do it. I appreciate all the support and hope that someday others will be able to come along.

**Jacquot** · 12-14-2012, 04:39 AM

Great work, Mike, thank you. It's good to get to see it. Beautiful flowers, too. Are the rougher stones to the left older grave markers? --The dance photos are great to see as well, BTW.

Mike Cash · 12-14-2012, 02:24 PM

Yes, the older stones to the left seem to be from the old family tomb before it was moved to Tokyo.

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10-11-2012, 10:20 PM	#61
tromboads Veteran Member Join Date: Apr 2012 Location: Melbs Photos: Gallery Posts: 1,240	Yes great thread! And well done on the cash raised Now I was under the impression the "Takumer" name of lens was given in honour of his brother, as they too drew in a painterly style. Can any one confirm this glorious internet rumour? :P must find the reference where that came form. .. #edit. here was the link... "shrugs" http://forum.mflenses.com/viewtopic.php?t=51475&start=15 Quote: Taking it in a slightly different direction; M-42 is a threaded mount (screw mount). K is a bayonet mount. Many or perhaps almost all M mount Pentax lenses have a metal focus ring and an all metal body. Focus operation across almost all M models is buttery smooth - akin to $2k and $4k Leica lenses or even better. They feel very high quality in the hand and mounted on the camera. Most or all K mount Pentax lenses use a rubber focus ring. The aperture ring is always stiff and unsmooth unless it's nearly worn out. Focusing operation is not very smooth - nothing at all like the M mount lenses. Pretty much the same as MF Nikkors, non-L canon FD, or Oly lenses. Actually Oly is often a little smoother. They don't feel all that high quality in hand nor on camera - but pretty average. In terms of IQ most M mount pentax lenses have a very creamy and "painterly" bokeh. There are five general kinds of M mount pentax Takumars: Takumar, Auto-Takumar, Super Takumar, SuperMultiCoated Takumar, and SMC Takumars. Almost without exception the coatings are: Takumar - Single Coated Auto-Takumar - Single coated Super Takumar - 3 coating layers SuperMultiCoated Takumar - 7 coating layers SMC Takumars - 7 coating layers. I think it's 7 anyway but it's been awhile since I read it so it might be 6 or 8 - but I think I'm remembering right that it's 7. Many, perhaps most Auto-Takumars and Takumars have a noticeable amount of color fringing (LoCA, etc.) tho usually not too much purple fringing (PF) around high contrast edges. IMO the way it's rendered in the image it actually adds to the character of the lens - most are still very sharp and the OOF color gradient fringes make them all the more painterly. Flares are very defined and pronounced - which can be a very nice effect! Super Takumars are about the same thing but less (almost no) PF and flares are less defined and pronounced. SuperMultiCoated Takumar are about the same again but much less LoCA and flares are dead and dull like most other multi-coated lenses. Lens reflections are about all that's left for using flares creatively. SMC Takumars begin to use rubber focus rings and inferior dampening grease - very near to K mount pentax models. IQ is very slightly different than SuperMultiCoated Takumars. With K-mount lenses they started dropping the Takumar insignia. "Takumar" was the name of Asahi's Founder's brother: Takuma Kajiwara. He was a little famous for his oil and acrylic portraits (paintings). And since the early Takumars uniquely rendered a "painterly" bokeh the name seemed to apply very well. By the time SMC and K-Mount lenses were being made this painterly rendering was gone and so it seems fitting that the painter's name was dropped as well. Later in some Ka-mount lenses the Takumar name was used again as the lenses they applied the name to were designed to recapture that painterly look. Whether they actually do recapture that look or not you'll have to buy one and find our for yourself. If I wanna be creative Takumar and Super-Takumar are preferred. Very much preferred! They look pretty awesome mounted on the camera too! If I want good, standard or typical looking, vanilla photographs then I use one of my SMC Takumars or one of my SMC Pentax K-mount lenses. I have a few Ka-mount Takumars too but haven't used them enough to really comment intelligently. If you wanna know about the various series of lenses they made from about 1975 or 1980 (after K) then wiki is a good source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pentax_cameras#K_Series IMHO, there's nothing significant between them - various qualities and many attempts at AF and then on to Digital. Not of much interest for me. I like MF lenses. Last edited by tromboads; 10-12-2012 at 01:43 AM.

10-12-2012, 11:12 PM - 1 Like	#62
RichardS Loyal Site Supporter Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Nelson Bay, NSW, Australia Posts: 2,418	Originally posted by Mike Cash $15 total received so far. If anyone else wants to chip in, please do make a note of it here in the thread so we don't run the danger of collecting more than the actual expenses, which all told won't run over $30. I'm perfectly fine with covering the rest myself, or even the entire amount as this is something I would do anyway. I think I must be having a senior's moment. Mike, I couldn't see how to donate. Richard.

10-13-2012, 02:33 AM	#63
Mike Cash Veteran Member Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Japan Photos: Gallery Posts: 6,950	Originally posted by RichardS I think I must be having a senior's moment. Mike, I couldn't see how to donate. Richard. Via PayPal to my email address: "mikecash at gmail dot com"

10-14-2012, 11:54 PM - 1 Like	#64
Mike Cash Veteran Member Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Japan Photos: Gallery Posts: 6,950	$15 received, thank you very much. The full amount to cover this year's flowers and tomb clean-up expenses has been collected. Thanks very much to everyone.

11-10-2012, 06:46 PM - 1 Like	#65
Mike Cash Veteran Member Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Japan Photos: Gallery Posts: 6,950	Posting live from the Kajiwara family tomb in Fuchu City. Not as bad as last year, mostly just a few fallen leaves to clean up. Someone, presumably from the family, had been by at least once since last year. The flower holders held a couple of bundles of cut greenery. I presume these were chosen because lacking blossoms they would remain fresh appearing for longer. They're in good shape and can't have been here very long. Whoever came may have been unable to do the cleaning up. As the greenery is still fresh, rather than tossing it out and replacing it I decided to add our flowers and it looks nice.

11-11-2012, 07:04 AM - 1 Like	#66
Douglas_of_Sweden Site Supporter Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Stockholm Photos: Gallery Posts: 3,374 Original Poster	Originally posted by tromboads Yes great thread! And well done on the cash raised Now I was under the impression the "Takumer" name of lens was given in honour of his brother, as they too drew in a painterly style. Can any one confirm this glorious internet rumour? :P must find the reference where that came form. .. #edit. here was the link... "shrugs" Pentax K - Pentax M I'm sorry I have not had time to work with this thread, despite that I have a ton of new info on Takuma Kajiwara. Eventually I will catch up. But to answer this question: The standard version is that Takuma Kajiwara's nephew, then head of Asahi Optical Co, named the lenses after his uncle, the famed photographer, maybe hoping to get some advantage from this on the US market, maybe just because they were close. But I've also discovered that Takuma explained in an interview that "Takuma" means "to grind or to polish". So there may be a double meaning since Asahi and the Kajiwara family from the start in 1919 was proud to be "lens polishers". I've been told that Japanese generally love if they can name something with a double meaning.

11-11-2012, 07:09 AM	#67
Douglas_of_Sweden Site Supporter Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Stockholm Photos: Gallery Posts: 3,374 Original Poster	Originally posted by Mike Cash Posting live from the Kajiwara family tomb in Fuchu City. Not as bad as last year, mostly just a few fallen leaves to clean up. Someone, presumably from the family, had been by at least once since last year. The flower holders held a couple of bundles of cut greenery. I presume these were chosen because lacking blossoms they would remain fresh appearing for longer. They're in good shape and can't have been here very long. Whoever came may have been unable to do the cleaning up. As the greenery is still fresh, rather than tossing it out and replacing it I decided to add our flowers and it looks nice. Well done Mike! Sorry I missed to donate this time. Been in bad shape recently and I'm now just waiting for some surgery on Tuesday Once that is over I hope I will find the time to start posting the new material that I've been promising now for half a year or so...

11-11-2012, 04:24 PM	#68
tromboads Veteran Member Join Date: Apr 2012 Location: Melbs Photos: Gallery Posts: 1,240	Ahhhh cheers... Thanks for the reply

11-11-2012, 09:17 PM	#69
Mike Cash Veteran Member Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Japan Photos: Gallery Posts: 6,950	I wrote a brief note to the family, double-bagged it in plastic to protect it from the rain, and tied it to the shrub adjacent the main stone. I explained what we did last year and this year and that Douglas has been doing some very good work researching things. I included my address, phone numbers, and email and I hope that the next time the family comes around we might hear from them directly. Whether it is a little or a lot, I'm sure they must have some info and artifacts that would be interesting and informative. I also said that I plan to do next year's cleanup on November 10th. I will try to post up a few pictures from this year in a few days.

11-12-2012, 04:28 AM	#70
Jacquot Loyal Site Supporter Join Date: May 2008 Location: Sun City Center, FL Photos: Gallery Posts: 2,544	Great work, Mike. I hope you can make contact with them.

12-12-2012, 07:36 PM - 2 Likes	#71
Mike Cash Veteran Member Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Japan Photos: Gallery Posts: 6,950	Sorry for the long delay in getting the photos ready; I am running way behind and also had to give priority to a huge batch of dance photos. All Pentax K-5 Super Takumar 24/3.5

12-14-2012, 12:05 AM	#72
Pioneer Pentaxian Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Wandering the Streets Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 1,411	Very nice shots of the tomb Mike. It is nice to see these. Thanks for your time and your work.

12-14-2012, 04:19 AM	#73
Mike Cash Veteran Member Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Japan Photos: Gallery Posts: 6,950	Originally posted by Pioneer Very nice shots of the tomb Mike. It is nice to see these. Thanks for your time and your work. Thank you very much, I am glad to do it. I appreciate all the support and hope that someday others will be able to come along.

12-14-2012, 04:39 AM	#74
Jacquot Loyal Site Supporter Join Date: May 2008 Location: Sun City Center, FL Photos: Gallery Posts: 2,544	Great work, Mike, thank you. It's good to get to see it. Beautiful flowers, too. Are the rougher stones to the left older grave markers? --The dance photos are great to see as well, BTW.

12-14-2012, 02:24 PM	#75
Mike Cash Veteran Member Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Japan Photos: Gallery Posts: 6,950	Yes, the older stones to the left seem to be from the old family tomb before it was moved to Tokyo.