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

Anav Gupta – Backhand Off the bounce Counterloop

September 22, 2026
(by: Bowmar Sports) In this Butterfly Training Tips, Anav Gupta is focusing on a deep serve return, followed… Read More

Are You a Tree or a Squirrel?

September 21, 2026
(By Larry Hodges, Member of US Table Tennis Hall of Fame) Squirrels run circles around trees, and there's… Read More

Rachid El Bou Bou – Attacking Half Long Serve

September 21, 2026
(by: Bowmar Sports) In this Butterfly Training Tips, Rachid El Bou Bou is attacking a half long serve… Read More

MLTT Week 2 Preview: Action heads to Willowbrook

September 20, 2026
(by Steve Hopkins, photo MLTT) Major League Table Tennis moves to Compass Arena in Willowbrook, Illinois, this weekend,… Read More

WAB CLUB FEATURE: Boston Table Tennis Club

September 20, 2026
(by Steve Hopkins) The Boston Table Tennis Club is in Medford, just North of Cambridge and Somerville and only… Read More

USA Sweeps ITTF Americas U11 & U13 Championships

September 20, 2026
(by Steve Hopkins, photo ITTF) The United States ran the table at home as the ITTF Americas U11… Read More

Dang Qiu Ascends in Astana

September 20, 2026
(by Steve Hopkins, photo ITTFWorld) The top two seeds reached the Final at the WTT Star Contender series… Read More

Carlos Hernandez – Florida Open vs Daniel Gorak

September 20, 2026
(by: Bowmar Sports) In this Bowmar Sports Tournament Highlights, Carlos Hernandez is in action again Daniel Gorak at… 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.

/* Constant Contact Universal Code */