Site Products
100th Anniversary of the Birth of Hikosuke Tamasu - The founder of Butterfly

100th Anniversary of the Birth of Hikosuke Tamasu – The founder of Butterfly

Posted on

Hikosuke Tamasu was born exactly one hundred years ago on August 20, 1920, in Yanai, Japan, as the eldest son of the Tamasu family.

Hikosuke began to devote himself to table tennis, a sport for which there were few competitors at the time. Later, as he further honed his skills, he won prizes in all events at the All Japan Table Tennis Championships.

His passion for table tennis did not stop even after his career as a player had ended, therefore in 1950 he established Tamasu Co. Ltd. in order to create table tennis equipment. His pioneering activities went beyond the bounds of being a simple equipment manufacturer.

These ventures included developing in-house production of high-quality products, the first issue of the instructional magazine “Table Tennis Report”, and the construction of the training facility “Butterfly Table Tennis Dojo”, which attracted thousands of table tennis players from far and wide.

He passed away in July 2004 after witnessing the exponential growth of the Butterfly brand and the meteoric rise of the sport of table tennis. Goals which he had worked so tirelessly for.

Hikosuke was quoted as saying:
“Players are flowers in the table tennis world, and they are the very enchantment of table tennis; we would like to be butterflies flying around the flowers providing them the essential needs in the table tennis world”

Hikosuke’s passion for the Butterfly brand has been passed on to his successors, even 16 years after his death.

Stay “In The Loop” with Butterfly professional table tennis equipment, table tennis news, table tennis technology, tournament results, and We Are Butterfly players, coaches, clubs and more.

Latest News

Stay More on the Backand So You Can…

March 30, 2026
Middle/corner - 1 ball fixed in middle and the next ball either to Backhand or Forehand FETHOMANIA 25:… Read More

Lin Yun-Ju x Zyre 03 interview

March 30, 2026
(By Butterfly Americas) In this YouTube video, Lin Yun-Ju shares insights into his equipment for the first time… Read More

Develop Your Game Around Overpowering Strengths

March 30, 2026
(By Larry Hodges, Member of US Table Tennis Hall of Fame Put fear in the heart of your… Read More

Sanuka Herath – Amicus Training Stroke Chemistry

March 30, 2026
(by: Bowmar Sports) In this Butterfly Training Tips, Sanuka Herath is using the Amicus Robot to execute a… Read More

WAB CLUB FEATURE: Salt Lake City Table Tennis

March 29, 2026
(By Steve Hopkins) Salt Lake City Table Tennis has a decade of experience as Northern Utah's premiere, full-time… Read More

World Cup Preview

March 29, 2026
(by Steve Hopkins, photo WTT) The world's best converge on Macao for the ITTF Men's & Women's World… Read More

Picking Coton in Tunisia

March 29, 2026
(by Steve Hopkins, photo WTT) The surname Coton or le Coton has been prevalent among those in the… Read More

ITTF Announces Marketing Deal with Tom & Jerry

March 29, 2026
(by Steve Hopkins, photo ITTF and Galaxy Entertainment) On Friday, the ITTF announced a marketing contract with Galaxy… Read More
View All News

Get the latest from Butterfly

Stay “In The Loop” with Butterfly professional table tennis equipment, table tennis news, table tennis technology, tournament results, and We Are Butterfly players, coaches, clubs and more.