It was competitor Nippon Seiko (now known as NSK) which began the Japanese bearing industry in 1914 by producing such bearings. Four years later in 1918, Nishizono Ironworks, a factory in Uchibori, Mie Prefecture, began producing ball bearings.
NTN Formation and Split
Five years after Nishizono Ironworks began its production of these friction reducing components, the company merged with Tomoe Trading to fabricate and market them under the name "NTN". In 1927, however, Nishizono and Tomoe split, with the former company setting up a new company called "NTN Manufacturing Company".
Toyo Bearing Manufacturing
In 1934, the company reorganized as a joint-stock company, changing its name to Toyo Bearing Manufacturing. When Japan invaded Manchuria, the demand for bearings increased due to the war, and manufacturing productivity followed suit. In 1938, Toyo created a domestic subsidiary named Showa Bearing Manufacturing Company, in Mukogun, Hyogo Prefecture. Toyo absorbed Showa into its organization the following year, making the facility into its Mukogawa plant and merging Mukogawa's operations with those of their newly established plant in Kuwana.
By 1945, raw materials shortages that resulted from World War II rendered Japanese bearing manufacturers unable to produce at full capacity. However, in the late 1940s, as Japan recovered from combat, demand from the war-torn country and its intracontinental neighbors increased.
