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= Kyoichi Tanaka =

Kyoichi Tanaka (田中恭一, July 8, 1931 – March 10, 2024) was a prominent Japanese businessman. He founded Menicon Co., Ltd and served as the chairman of Menicon Co., Ltd. He was honorary chairman of the Japan contact lens association.

He was born in the town of Kisogawa, Aichi Prefecture in Japan. He is known to be the inventor of the the first Japanese corneal contact lens.

Inventing the contact lens from Scratch
In 1950, Kyoichi Tanaka started working at Tamamizuya optical shop. It was there that he heard of contact lenses for the first time from the wife of a U.S. Army officer.

Inspired by this idea and with tremendous effort and research, he developed the first corneal contact lens in Japan in 1951.

A commemorative plaque is installed at Tamamizuya (Nishiki, Naka-ku, Nagoya) marking this important contribution as the birthplace for the Japanese corneal contact lens.

Timeline

 * 1951, Completed the first contact lens, completely original product by himself
 * 1952, Established Nippon contact lens research center
 * 1957, Established Nippon Contact Lens company and becomes CEO and president
 * 1964, Exhibited Japan's first soft contact lens at the 8th Japan Contact Lens Society meeting
 * 1965, Changed name from Nippon Contact Lens to Toyo Contact Lens Co., Ltd.
 * 1967, Menicon was registered as a trademark
 * 1982, Menicon Co., Ltd was established by separation of Sales department of Toyo Contact Lens Co., Ltd.
 * 1987, The whole company was re-integrated under the new name of Menicon Co., Ltd.
 * 2000, He became the chairman of the company and his son became the president

Awards

 * 1982, Javal Award from International Optometry Contact Lens Committee
 * 1991, prize from International Eye Contact Lens Association
 * 1992, Takagi Award from from Minute Measurement Technique Foundation
 * 1992, Social Insurance Agency Director-general's Award
 * 1992, 6th Chunichi Industry Technology Prize from Chunichi Shimbun
 * 1995, Blue Ribbon Medal (Award ceremony at Imperial Palace)

Carving Art
Kyoichi Tanaka's hand crafting was carving, inspired by his father. He started by carving on bamboo and then shifting to wood and carving Darumas on wood. In 1995, he held Daruma carving charity auction. 1997, he held Daruma's Traces a one-man exhibition at Ikonen Art Museum in Frankfurt, Germany.

In 2018, he published his collection of artwork in the book "The World of Bodhidharma Carvings: Mind's Eye".

Quotation
"Kaigen" (enlightenment) is one of my favorite words. For those living with weak vision, contact lenses are indeed a Kaigen (eye opener). In my life, the path to "Kaigen" has been the making of contact lenses.