Yasui Kanekichi, father of Yasui Masayoshi and Jitsuichi (the founders of Brother Industries, Ltd.) established a sewing machine repair business in 1908, known as "Yasui Sewing Machine Co..
Subsequently, Masayoshi took over the business and manufactured the hydraulic machine for manufacturing straw hats, as the first step towards his aim of kickstarting the sewing machine industry. The product quality was highly regarded by straw hat makers.

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  The brothers Masayoshi (right) and Jitsuichi (left) Yasui, the founders of Brother Industries, Ltd.

As a result of their efforts, the Yasui brothers manufactured the "chain-stitch sewing machine" for making straw hats, in 1928. The chain-stitch sewing machine became popular for its durability in comparison to imported sewing machines, and accordingly, the need for repair, (which was Brother's occupation), decreased.
The brand of the sewing machine was called "BROTHER", symbolizing the cooperation of the brothers which led to the creation of the sewing machine. This was the beginning of the BROTHER brand.

Mass production the shuttle hook, an essential component of sewing machines, was difficult even with the application of all available domestic technology in the 1930s. The Yasui brothers succeeded in mass producing the shuttle hooks in 1932 for the first time in Japan, by creating machine facilities to manufacture the shuttle hook with one's own hands. In the same year, their goal of manufacturing sewing machines domestically was achieved with the birth of the first home sewing machine.

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  Shuttle Hook

In the 1950s, various products were manufactured using the technology developed during the manufacture of sewing machines. Starting from home knitting machines and extending to washing machines and electric fans manufactured by applying the motor technology from sewing machines, the Brother brand made more products for home usage.
With achievements such as the invention of the Darling, a 80cc motorcycle, in 1956, and the sale of this motorcycle on a trial basis starting from 1957, Brother invented products by seizing the momentum of the changing times.

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  Motorcycle Darling (1956)

In 1961, Brother released a portable typewriter, an item which was increasing in popularity in America. 3 years of development was necessary to realize the refined typeset.
Boasting the same capabilities as other products on the American market, the reasonable price boosted the popularity of the typewriter and eventually established the image of Brother as a manufacturer of office machines.

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  Production line of typewriters

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  Font after coining

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  Font developed using unique technology

Brother developed the high-speed dot-matrix printer (which could depict illustrations and shapes on command) in collaboration with Centronics Data Computer Corporation in 1971.
Following this, the Kanji (Chinese character) dot-matrix printer K-2000 was released in 1974. It was widely used as an industrial printer, on occasions such as the publication of transcripts at regional legal affairs bureaus, and printing airline boarding passes.

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  High-speed dot-matrix printer's print head

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  Print made by the high-speed dot-matrix printer

Machine tools such as the small size lathe for academic use, tapping machine, and the ultrasonic washer were commoditized after the 1960s. It was fulfilled by the technology and a consistently held belief that "We make the machines which make the products", inherited from the day when the company was founded.
In 1985, TC-211, a CNC tapping center that enables automatic manufacturing by computer, was released, and from that point, the industrial machinery business gradually becomes Brother's core business.

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  School Race, a small size lathe for academic use

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  High Tap, tapping machine

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  The ultrasonic washer

In 1987, Brother began the FAX business with the creation of the OEM supply model "FAX-20", sold domestically.
Later, the FAX-600, released to the American market in 1992, provided high performance for only $399. 150,000 of them were sold, proving to be a huge success, which eventually becomes the base of the All-in-One product.

The first label printer released in 1988 for the domestic market, was an unprecedented product, enabling the printing of text onto tape. This product, the "P-touch", was released in the United States in 1989. Until this time, the only two products of this type were instant lettering and tape writer. This product made labeling accessible for anybody.

JOYSOUND", an online karaoke system released in 1992, distributed new songs quicker and has more selections of songs than laser disks. It was a great hit among young people, since new songs were on the list one week to two weeks after release. This system, with which we are all familiar today, was developed in 1986 based on the system of "TAKERU", a system in use for vending machines selling computer software.

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  Computer software vending machine "TAKERU" (1986)"

The installation of in-house developed engines enabled the creation of "HL-630", a black-and-white laser printer released in 1994, to be offered for only $399, which was the cheapest in the US market. This led to the popularity of laser printers among SOHO (Small Office/Home Office) users. A few years later, Brother's straight paper pass mechanism was adopted, making Brother the benchmark for other companies.

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  Magazine advertisement for HL-630 (America)

In the 1990s, Brother increased its share of All-in-One products for the SOHO market. In 1997, the color inkjet All-in-One was added to the line-up. It was big news among the SOHO market that a color inkjet All-in-One with a range of capabilities (e.g. scanning and faxing) was sold only for $999.

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  Awarded as the "Editor's choice" for 4 consecutive years, from "PC Magazine" (Magazine in the US)"

The garment printer "GT-541", released in 2005 in the US, was manufactured by applying the inkjet technology and combined technologies of mechatronics and special ink. Being able to quickly print pictures from the computer onto fabric with no specialized knowledge, the printer was loved by Americans, who have long had a culture of creating original T-shirts.