Japan In Focus

Shop Helps People See The Micro World; Hamano Kenbikyo Has Sold Microscopes for Over A Century

The Yomiuri Shimbun
New and old microscopes are available at the Hamano Kenbikyo microscope shop.

By Toshiya Minami / Yomiuri Shimbun Staff Writer

12:07 JST, February 12, 2025

The Yomiuri Shimbun
The shop is also proprietor Ichiro Hamano’s home.

Near the Akamon gate of the University of Tokyo stands a shop of a kind that is hard to find anywhere in Japan: a microscope store. The shop, Hamano Kenbikyo (Hamano microscopes), has long supported the university and many other research institutes with its products and services. While the demand for microscopes is now declining due to changing research methods, proprietor Ichiro Hamano, 79, is still working hard, saying, “I will continue my work as long as there are customers who need help.”

The shop is also known for its collection of old microscopes, with more than 10 of them on display in a showcase at the front of the store, including one that was manufactured in Japan about 100 years ago and one that was produced overseas in the 1800s. Since his collection now exceeds 1,000 microscopes, he began using his house for storage. Hamano refurbished the upstairs of the shop and moved in there.

The shop was founded by Hamano’s granduncle around the turn of the 20th century and moved to its current location in 1958. Hamano began helping his father with his work and learning the family business when he was an elementary school student, delivering products to university laboratories and doing other work. After he graduated from college, he worked at a microscope company in Osaka for two years to get experience, then became a full-fledged employee at the family store in 1971. In 1980, he took over the shop.

The shop originally specialized in selling microscopes, but Hamano also repairs microscopes, which he learned how to do from professionals at a microscope manufacturer. He will go anywhere in response to a request. Now, people whose repair requests are rejected by manufacturers count on Hamano for help.

Microscopes are supposed to stay in use for 20 or 30 years. Researchers care for their microscopes, with some describing them as being like “part of [their] body.” Hamano says that it is his greatest joy to see customers who are happy seeing their broken microscopes repaired.

However, the situation surrounding microscopes is difficult. As the most commonly used research methods have shifted from classification and identification using microscopes to processes such as computer-aided genomic analysis, there are fewer opportunities to use microscopes in school classes. In addition, the rise of cheap foreign-made microscopes has caused domestic manufacturers to lose their competitive edge, according to Hamano.

He knows he will be the last owner of the shop and collection. Even so, he will not quit his job. He will continue to help people see the microworld.