Hitachi Ltd is a Japanese multinational conglomerate company originally founded as Hitachi Seisaku-sho. The company has grown into one of Japan's largest corporations with diverse business operations spanning technology, infrastructure, and services.
This article is Part I of a series on Hitachi Ltd, exploring the company's founding in 1910 by engineer Namihei Odaira, its early development of Japan's first electric motors and generators, and its growth into a major industrial conglomerate through innovation in heavy electrical equipment and household appliances.