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

Shadow Practice Your Shots

June 22, 2026
(By Larry Hodges, Member of US Table Tennis Hall of Fame If you spent five-ten minutes each day… Read More

Tashiya Piyadasa – Modified Random

June 22, 2026
(by: Bowmar Sports) In this Butterfly Training Tips, Tashiya Piyadasa is executing a Modified Random Drill https://youtu.be/zV0k5LcHRqw Stay “In… Read More

WAB CLUB FEATURE: Texas Table Tennis Training Center

June 21, 2026
(by Steve Hopkins) The Texas Table Tennis Training Center (“TTT”) has about 50-60 regular members, as well as a… Read More

United States Smash Preview

June 21, 2026
(by Steve Hopkins) The world’s absolute best are converging on American soil in just ten days, and this… Read More

Shunsuke Stuns in Slovenia

June 21, 2026
(by Steve Hopkins) Ljubijana was the host of this week's tour stop, as the WTT Star Contender series… Read More

🎥 Episode 11: Ask The Expert Live With Logan Rietz | How to Choose the Best Table Tennis Shoes

June 18, 2026
(by Bowmar Sports) Not sure which table tennis shoes are right for you? In this episode of Ask… Read More

Can Players Trained in the U.S. Compete With Chinese Players?

June 18, 2026
(by Coach Bob Chen) This is a question many people ask. Can a player trained in the United… Read More

Butterfly joins WTT Champions Yokohama 2026 as Official Equipment Partner

June 17, 2026
(By Butterfly Global) NEW TRAZOX TABLE TO DEBUT AS BUTTERFLY BECOMES OFFICIAL TABLE AND BALL PARTNER FOR WTT… 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.