What was Sony originally called when Masaru Ibuka and Akio Morita founded it in 1946?

Sony was originally called Tokyo Tsushin Kogyo when Masaru Ibuka and Akio Morita founded it in 1946.

The company began in Tokyo shortly after World War II, initially operating from a damaged department-store building in Nihonbashi. Its early products included electrical equipment such as a rice cooker and Japan’s first tape recorder, the Type-G, introduced in 1950.

In 1958, Tokyo Tsushin Kogyo officially changed its name to Sony. The shorter name was chosen for international use and was influenced by the Latin word “sonus,” meaning sound, as well as “sonny,” a contemporary English term for a young boy. The name helped the company present a compact, memorable identity outside Japan.

A common mix-up is confusing Sony’s founding name with later brand names such as Sony Music or Sony Interactive Entertainment. Those are later divisions or subsidiaries; the original company was Tokyo Tsushin Kogyo.