Canon Inc.
Canon, headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, is a Japanese company that specialises in imaging and optical products, marketing of cameras and computer printers. Formerly known as Kwanon, the company anglicized its name when it became a major exporter.
The company was founed in 1933 with the name 精機光学研究所 (Seiki-kougaku laboratory or Precision Optical Instruments Laboratory) by the co-founder Yoshida Goro and his brother-in-law Uchida Saburo, aided by Takeshi Mitarai, a close friend of Uchida. Its original purpose was to research into the development of quality cameras. [1]
The official Japanese name of the company is キヤノン (not キャノン).