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Toy Robot History 

While toys were made in Japan before WWII, they were generally simple and poor quality. Before the war Germany was the world's major toy manufacturer, followed by the US. Obviously during the war, virtually all toy manufacturing in Japan and Germany stopped. This almost happened in the US but companies like Marx and Gilbert convinced Washington to allow toys to be made, so a sense of normalcy could remain on the home front. After the war the Marshall Plan or plans were enstated to rebuild European and Japanese industry. Of General MacArthur's many after war duties, industrial rehabilitation of Japan was job one.

The idea was to give Japan all the low profit, high labor, small item manufacturing industries that were no longer attractive in the US. Not to drastically affect US industry, items like cheap cameras, portable radios and toys were suggested for Japan. The US companies that made these items before the war, could now market these imported items and make more profit than if they made them. US toy importers like Marx, Rosco, Cragstan and Mego began selling toys manufactured by Masudaya, Nomura, Daiya, Yoshiya, Yonezawa and Horikawa.

These first Japanese toys were friction or clockwork powered, stamped steel and based on many popular American and German toys from before the war. The Japanese with an almost religious zeal to succeed, quickly began to perfect their designs to compete against each other. To woo the world's largest toy market, the US, these former arms manufacturers soon added unique actions, tin lithography and battery power to their creations. By the mid 50's, Japan won the toy war and emerged as the worlds number one manufacturer, eclipsing the US and Germany.

The first toy robot is believed to be the boxy, yellow, clockwork Robot Lilliput from Japan.. Although many collectors believe this robot to be from the late 1930's, experts are begining to atribute it to the mid 1940's, after the war. The next Japanese robot to make an appearance, was the late 1940's Atomic Robot Man. This second robot's date of birth is definitely known, since it was given out as a promo item at the New York Sci-fi convention in 1950. The box for Atomic Robot Man showed an ironic scene of the robot marching through a decimated city, complete with an atomic mushroom cloud...

While Japanese toys began to appear in the US shortly after the war, most of the first robots were actually American made. The first to show up in the Sears Christmas Book was Ideal's crank operated Robert the Robot in 1954. Soon came, Marvelous Mike, The Robot Dog, Z-Man, Big Max and Marx Electric robot, all American made. Japan was about to unleash its secret weapon, in 1955 battery operated toys began to arrive from Japan.

Batteries were used long before in toys, but this was usually only for lights or noise. The Japanese started to use small battery operated motors to power everything from fuzzy poodles, to army tanks and of course robots. This was fueled by the movie Forbidden Planet, which introduced Robby the Robot in 1956 and by the launch of Sputnik in 57. Robby the Robot is likely the most copied, with a hundred or two variations, many battery operated and Japanese. While none of these "Robby" toys were licensed, all are unmistakable with names like Planet Robot and Mechanized Robot.

Unlike other collectables, toy robots are sometimes difficult to attribute. While a "Made in Japan" robot may have an American company logo or well known Japanese makers mark on it, that still doesn't necessarily tell you who made it. Many manufactured items in Japan were subcontracted out, made by piecework in someone's home or bought from an unknown supplier. To complicate things even more, tin toys from Japan were even made from recycled materials. You only have to open up an old tin toy to find out that the inside may have the printing from a Japanese tuna can or an imported powdered milk can. Rejected tin from a canning plant would be recycled and reprinted on the reverse side to produce a toy robot or spaceship. Though it is unlikely that larger toys were ever made from actual cans.

One of the most prolific makers of Japanese battery operated toys was the Horikawa company who used the trade logo SH . Horikawa sold literally hundreds of different tin robots, rockets and space stations. In fact Horikawa sold so many different robots in the 1950's through 80's that new variations are being found regularly by collectors. While Horikawa is a well known name in Japanese toys, many don't realize that they were a wholesaler and not a manufacturer. Most of their robots, as well as the toys of other famous companies, were actually made by the Metal House company of Tokyo. While virtually all of the well know Japanese robot and space toy sellers of the past no longer exist, Metal House still does. A family business which started before the war, Metal House still makes battery operated tin robots in limited quantities for collectors.

Now where do things stand today ?

The robots of yesterday are actually enjoying a renaissance. Engineers and artists alike consider these surviving robots as important pieces of technology and some as modern art. Collectors, world wide, willingly spend hundreds or thousands of dollars for toy robots that were once thought of as cheap imported junk. It's not unusual for a toy that cost $3.95 forty years ago, to sell for $10,000 , $25,000 or $50,000 today at a Sotheby's or Christie's auction. Also don't let the notion of only a single Japanese toy maker still making classic tin robots discourage you. In recent years, China has become the new home of the robot. Seeing a healthy appetite for all things robotic, shops in China are now churning out these metal marvels in biblical numbers. Today a humble collector can purchase an exact functioning replica of a $5000 or $10,000 vintage robot for $50 to $100. While this may concern many "well healed" collectors, others believe these reincarnated robots will only drum up new interest and bring new blood into the hobby...

History of Japanese Robotics

Among Japan's oldest robots are the karakuri ningyo, or mechanical dolls. Karakuri ningyo are believed to have originated in China. During the Edo period (1603-1867), Takeda-za developed a mechanical-puppet theater which flourished in Osaka's Dotonbori district.[1]

In middle of 20 century, Ichiro Kato professor of Waseda University studied humanoid robot. He made "WABOT-1" the full scale humanoid robot in 1973. WABOT-1 has two arms, walks by two legs, watches with two camera eyes.

In 1996, Honda announced P2 humanoid robot. After that, a number of companies and institutes started to develop humanoid robots for many purposes.

Types of Robots 

Humanoid Entertainment Robots

    * ASIMO, manufactured by Honda

    * QRIO

    * HOAP(*1) Robot Series (Humanoid for Open Architecture Platform), Manufactured by Fujitsu

    * TOYOTA Partner Robot, manufactured by Toyota.

Androids

Androids are robots designed to strongly resemble humans.

    * Actroid is a realistic female robot demonstrated most prominently at Expo 2005 in Japan.

Animal (four legged) robots

Aibo playing with kids

Aibo playing with kids

    * AIBO is a commercial robotic dog manufactured by Sony Electronics.

Social robots

    * PaPeRo

    * Paro, a robot baby seal intended for therapeutic purposes

Guard robots

    * Guardrobo D1 is manufactured by Sohgo Security Services.

    * Banryu, manufactured by Sanyo and TMSUK.

Domestic robots

    * SmartPal V, manufactured by Yaskawa Electric Corporation.

    * TWENDY-ONE, developed by Waseda University.

    * TPR-ROBINA, manufactured by Toyota.

Mobility Robot

    * WL-16RIII, developed by Waseda University and TMSUK.

    * i-foot, developed by Toyota.

    * i-REAL, developed by Toyota.

Rescue robots

    * T-53 Enryu, manufactured by TMSUK.

 Industrial Humanoid Robotics

    * HRP-3 PROMET Mk-II, manufactured by Kawada Industries, designed by Yutaka Izubuchi.

Industrial Robotics

Eventually the deeper long term financial resources and strong domestic market enjoyed by the Japanese companies prevailed, their robots spread all over the globe. Only a few non-Japanese companies managed to survive in this market, including Adept Technology, Stäubli-Unimation, the Swedish-Swiss company ABB (ASEA Brown-Boveri), the Austrian manufacturer igm Robotersysteme AG and the German company KUKA Robotics.

This includes the one used by the robot based automative production plants. Assembly line robots

Characteristics

The Japanese movie Robocon (2003) is a fictional account of an inter-school robot competition.

Mobility and movement

One of the characteristics and advances of Japanese robotics over that of other countries is the movement and mobility of the robots used.

Commercial Applications

Japanese engineers expect robots to be available for commercial household use by 2010. The domestic market for Japanese commercial and industrial robots may be as high as $8 billion dollars by this time .

Japanese robotics companies

General robotics

    * Sony Corporation

    * Honda

    * Toyota

    * Toshiba

Industrial robotics

    * Fuji Yusoki Kogyo

    * Denso Corporation

    * Epson

    * FANUC

    * Intelligent Actuator

    * Kawasaki

    * Nachi

    * Nidec Sankyo

    * Yaskawa Electric Corporation

    * Kawada Industries

COSPLAY

What is Cosplay?

Cosplay is a Japanese fan term for Costume Play; it's equivalent to the Western fan term Masquerade. In Japan cosplay covers pretty much the spread that convention masquerades in the West cover, from SF to fantasy, from medieval to military uniforms. It's basically a time for fans to dress up in their favourite garb or as their favourite character and have a bit of fun. There is a condition though; most fans insist that you not only play the character in dress, you also play the character's nature. In other words, whilst you're in costume, you must be the character, in thoughts, words and action.

Western cosplay has a slightly different meaning. In the US and in Europe cosplay is solely restricted to the costuming of Japanese characters, from anime, manga and gaming. The term is used by anime fans to distinguish it from other types of masquerade, much in the way that the word otaku is used by anime fans to describe themselves, whilst in Japan it covers all kind of obsessive fandom.

In addition, Western cosplayers aren't required to act their characters, at least not to the degree their Japanese cousins do. It's enough to dress up, or to go on stage and do a humourous skit. In this way cosplay masquerades are much like other Western masquerades. There is a movement though, coming from the US East Coast cons, that promotes the idea that convention masquerades should closely match the codes of conduct fostered by Japanese cosplay masquerades. Whether this thought prevails will be due to the conventions and the costumers- it will be interesting to see what happens over the next few years.

History of Western cosplaying- one person's view

Cosplaying in Western terms is as old as Western anime fandom. In the two or so decades that anime fandom has existed in the US fans have been dressing up as their favourite anime characters at SF conventions. It was appropriate, as anime fandom grew out of SF fandom that costuming was a part of that heritage. This heritage blossomed with the emergeance of anime conventions in the mid to late 80's. In 1990 Project A-kon, in Dallas, Texas, the first continuous anime convention featured a masquerade. The next year, AnimeCon 1991, due to fan pressure, conducted a masquerade that included inadvertently the Japanese Guests of Honour in the skit. It was so popular that it has become a staple of anime cons following ever since. Nowdays, it's inconceivable that a convention not run a masquerade.

In addition, costuming is becoming very sophisticated. From the early conventions, which featured human characters only, masquerades have featured very intricate costuming. One genre that is unique to anime costuming, not found in Western SF fandom, is the mecha costume. Many hours of hard work have brought to life, at least for a short time, such mecha as Gundams, Valkyries, Ingrams and Junchoons. Some of the cutest furry characters, such as Totoro and Ryo-oh-ki, have been imaginatively created and costumed. Even the wildest hairstyles have been captured by costumers. It would not be out of place to say that anime costumers are the equal or better of their SF colleagues.

Cosplay venues

Cosplay can be seen at public events such as video game shows, as well as at dedicated cosplay parties at nightclubs or amusement parks . It is not unusual for Japanese teenagers to gather with like-minded friends in places like Tokyo's Harajuku district to engage in cosplay. Since 1998 , Tokyo 's Akihabara district has contained a large number of cosplay cafés , catering to devoted anime and cosplay fans. The waitresses at such cafés dress as game or anime characters; maid (or meido) costumes are particularly popular.

Possibly the single largest and most famous event attended by cosplayers is the semiannual doujinshi market, Comiket . This event, held in summer and winter, attracts hundreds of thousands of manga otaku and many thousands of cosplayers who congregate on the roof of the exhibition center, often in unbearably hot or cold conditions.

Cosplayers in Japan refer to themselves as reyazu; pronounced layers (by writing the word cosplayers in katakana , it is possible to shorten it in this way). Those who photograph players are called cameko, short for "Camera Kozo" or "Camera Boy". The cameko give prints of their photos to the players as gifts. Tensions between players and cameko have increased due to perceived stalker -like behaviour among some obsessive males who push female cosplayers to exchange personal email addresses or do private photo sessions. One result of this has been a tightening of restrictions on photography at events such as Comiket.

While Cosplay arguably originated in Japan, one should not be confused with the idea that Cosplay is considered typical behavior in Japan. While some do attend Cosplay functions that are held in districts such as Akihabara, most Japanese people find Cosplay to be rather silly. In addition, because Cosplay in Japan has adapted such a negative sexual connotation, many Japanese have come to feel that Cosplay is reprehensible. In addition, North Americans who Cosplay typically refer to themselves as "otaku", which is essentially the Japanese word for "geek", but wrongfully use this word in an attempt to embody themselves in a sociological group that they can be proud of. To contrast, in Japan actual otaku refuse to admit that they are otaku because the idea of otaku it is not looked at as a group of people who are engaging in activity that may seem "just a little different". In fact, being an otaku in Japan entails standing on one of the bottom rungs of the Japanese social ladder.

Cosplay trends

A recent trend at Japanese cosplay events is an increase in the popularity of non-Japanese fantasy and science fiction movie characters, perhaps due to the international success of such films as The Matrix , Star Wars and Lord of the Rings . Characters from the Harry Potter films have a particularly high number of female fans in Japan, with female cosplayers playing either male or female characters, Draco Malfoy being an extremely popular choice.

The act of cosplaying as characters of the opposite sex is called " crossplay ", whereas the act of cosplaying as characters who dress as the opposite sex as the cosplayer is called " cross-dressing ". Crossplaying and cross-dressing may be the same in some cases; however, they could be different. For example, a female cosplayer cosplaying as a male character who dresses as a normal male (such as Kira Yamato from Gundam SEED ) would be cross-dressing and crossplaying; a male cosplayer cosplaying as a female character who dresses as a normal female (such as Lacus Clyne from Gundam SEED) would also be cross-dressing and crossplaying. However, a female cosplayer cosplaying as someone like Mana (male artist from the Visual Kei band Malice Mizer known for dressing in female clothes) would be crossplaying, but not cross-dressing (since the cosplayer is cosplaying someone of the opposite sex but is wearing clothes of her own sex); a male cosplayer also cosplaying as Mana would be cross-dressing, but not cross-playing (since the cosplayer is cosplaying someone of the same sex but is wearing clothes of the opposite sex).

A small niche group in the crossplaying field are dollers , a subset of kigurumi cosplayers; usually male, they wear bodysuits and masks to fully transform into female characters.

Another recent trend in cosplay is a blurring of the distinction between costumes based on characters from games and anime, and "original" costumes based upon a general theme or existing fashions. In particular, the Tokyo teen-fashion trend of Gothic Lolita has attracted some cosplayers who might not have the inclination (or possibly courage) to wear such distinctive clothes around town, but who would like to dress in such a manner on some occasions. Other popular trends include the "original Visual Kei cosplaying", "original punk cosplaying", "original Super Dollfie cosplaying", et cetera.

Cosplay and the sex industry

In Japanese , the term can also mean — and may originate from — the use of costumes for sexual purposes, in which case the "play" refers not to dressing up, but sexual play while dressed up. The term hence overlaps what would usually be known in English as sexual roleplaying or sexual fetishism : for example, wearing a schoolgirl uniform before or during sex would be known as seifuku cosplay (制服コスプレ , seifuku cosplay ^? ), and many Japanese love hotels offer costume rental services.

In the Japanese sex industry , sex clubs that specialize in sexual cosplay are known as image clubs . In addition to standard fetishistic standbys (schoolgirl, nurse, policewoman, etc), an increasing number, pioneered by the now defunct Wedding Bell chain, cater to otaku with staff dressing up as anime characters.

Cosplay in the United States , Canada , and the United Kingdom differs from Japanese cosplay culture in some ways. Cosplay concerning Star Trek , Star Wars , other science fiction worlds, Renaissance-era characters , and historical re-enactments (e.g. Civil War battles), especially at science fiction conventions, are far more popular in America than they are in Japan. Alternatively, some costumes that might be seen as in bad taste in America (such as Nazi uniforms from certain comics or games) may be seen at events in Japan.

For almost 50 years, costume fandom has had a consistent and widespread following with costumers in the west, from the first Worldcon onward, with the influx of anime costumes, the word cosplay is becoming a more and more commonly used term to describe costumes of specifically Japanese media origins.

An issue with cosplaying anime and manga characters is that these characters generally do not have bodily proportions that can easily be mimicked by many typical cosplayers (e.g. incredibly long legs, huge muscles or giant breasts), and there is debate among fans about how important or not this element is when cosplaying.

In Mexico , cosplay is commonly seen inside conventions that can be video game, science fiction or anime themed. It is common that cosplayers will also organize their own reunions which can be themed or free for the sake of taking pictures together. Cosplay in Mexico is competitive in a healthy level, with well established representatives. This phenomenon also can be viewed in other Latin American countries, like Brazil , Argentina and Chile .

In Australia , the trend mirrors the American in that the subject costumes may be selected from sources other than manga or anime. Sources include American comics, computer games, science fiction/fantasy movies and TV shows, animation shorts or features, period drama, novels - any source that provides vivid and graphic inspiration of a character and their costume. Usually the term "cosplay" is not used to cover historical recreation as the focus is on representational accuracy, not historical accuracy. In general, Australian cosplay is most commonly seen in the larger population centres such as the capital cities and major regional centres, as these have the population base to support the diversity among fringe interests. The display of the costumes is not limited to conventions, although it is not unusual for dedicated cosplayers to travel extensively throughout Australia following the convention trail during the year. In addition to the social convening at conventions, many smaller social groupings exist, hosting their own local events.

In France , cosplay is a widespread activity in anime and manga conventions. Large conventions like Japan Expo can attract more than 500 cosplayers. While the majority of French cosplayers choose anime and manga for inspiration, many people like to dress like movie characters, famous singers or even TV show actors even if it's not directly related to the theme of the convention. Unlike the Japanese, French cosplayers use almost exclusively hand made costumes which are often used only once. Buying or reusing costumes is seen as unfair competition ( in some contests they can't compete). French cosplayers are mainly focused on the cosplay contest, which take place in nearly all manga, science fiction, fantasy or role playing game conventions. They are not really competitive, they're more of an occasion to show off the costume and appear as good as possible instead (e.g. scene, lighting, soundtrack, etc.). Acting and singing skills are highly valued in contests, and some groups reenact fighting or musical comedy scenes also. For example being able to do a cartwheel stunt in costume is part of the Japan expo tradition and one of the most valued figures in the contest.

In Belgium , cosplay plays an increasingly important role in the F.A.C.T.S. convention with hundreds of people dressed up in costume from different anime series.

Cosplay is rapidly entering the mainstream in the Philippines , where cosplay events are often held within an anime, manga, gaming, or sci-fi convention. More often than not, these conventions and events are sponsored, and debates have raged on whether or not judges' perspectives are influenced by the organizers of a cosplay event. Also Filipino cosplay rules overlook and allow professional fully commissioned costumes to participate in competitions.

Cosplay also has followers in other parts of Asia such as South Korea , China , Hong Kong , Singapore and Taiwan . As well as attending comic festivals and events, cosplayers there also frequent districts popular with teenagers.

Cosplay in North America

Anime Convention activity in the United States and Canada has become a much larger and much more popular trend in the 2000's . With the added public attention coming from such popular animated series imported from Japan (see anime ) including Naruto , Fullmetal Alchemist , Death Note , Inuyasha and Bleach , cosplayers and the anime world have peeked their heads into the world of mainstream pop-culture, on at least a relatively underground scale. More and more convention goers cosplay as their favorite characters from their favorite anime, and thus, the cosplay and anime subcultures have been able to have enough influence to further the creation of anime conventions to accommodate for the increasing number of cosplayers.

Conventions in America often include both cosplay and costume contests. The cosplay or "masque" ( masquerade ) is a skit contest done in cosplay costume. The costume contest is often a test of skill, design, and audience reaction. The contestants are judged either before hand or on stage and then walk across said stage while the audience cheers. The increased popularity of convention costuming has led to the addition of several relatively new cosplay-based events, adding to the traditional masquerade and hall costume contests. Such events include the Anime Dating Game, and Cosplay Human Chess, where participating cosplayers act out their characters' role in the game accordingly.

Competition has led to the development of many cosplay groups that plan for conventions months in advance.

Non-competitive cosplay can often be seen at opening nights for science-fiction and fantasy movies, especially those with an established following. Even in small towns, some cosplayers wait in line for hours before showings of movies in franchises like Star Wars , Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings . Even cult hits like Serenity have drawn opening night cosplay.

In the UK, US and elsewhere, fans of The Rocky Horror Picture Show attend screenings of the cult film in the costumes of its characters. This tradition began soon after the film's release in 1975.

The annual Bay to Breakers footrace in San Francisco has been a favorite cosplay venue for decades. A large number of cosplayers run or walk in their favorite costume amongst serious competitive runners.