First transistor radio from Kobe Kogyo 1956?

Collectors like the first of things. On this website you can see the first pocket transistor radios from several makers: Regency, Raytheon, Zenith, Sony, Emerson, Magnavox, RCA Victor, Philco, Motorola, and General Electric. Today we're going to look at the first transistor radio from Kobe Kogyo.

This Kobe Kogyo is one of Japan's earliest transistor radios. On the back it says "Model KT-6 Kobe Kogyo Corp." And INSIDE the radio, the model number is given as G-601.

And who was Kobe Kogyo? Well, the transistors in Kobe Kogyo products say "TEN" on them. T-E-N. And some of their radios have badges that say that too. But that TEN is not meant to be a number, or initials either. It is a translation of the Chinese character which means Heaven in Chinese and Japanese. Are you confused yet? The company's history is just as confusing as the "ten" thing. Of this I am sure: They began in 1920 as Kawanishi Machine Works, which evolved in 1949 into Kobe Industries and eventually into Fujitsu Ten. The company survives today as Denso Ten and they mostly make car audio, video, and navigation systems under the Eclipse brand.

This radio also appears with the brand name "Million," and in Radio Shack's catalog as a "Hi-Fiver." It also appears as the first Realtone, launching that radio brand--a brand which continues to this day, now known as iHome.

So, as a company Kobe Kogyo is still around, but very few of their products these days have plastic imitation pearl on them. This unique feature of this radio wasn't very stable and if you are lucky enough to find one of these great radios, chances are high that the pearly panel on the front will be warped.

If you are lucky enough to find ANY Kobe Kogyo radios, you are in for a treat. After this early radio, they went on to make some of the finest and most stylish radios to be seen in the transistor radios' golden age.