Empire of Electronics

Chapter 1.3 - Tour of Europe

In any country, it's natural to inspect cutting-edge technologies of other nations and, if superior, incorporate them into one's own. Even if our country's machinery and electrical technology advance, the majority of equipment produced domestically is overwhelmingly based on inventions from abroad. To actively incorporate advanced foreign technologies, it's crucial to seize every opportunity.

The purpose of the inspection team, hastily assembled for us to join, was similar. Departing for Britain via the Panama Canal to make it in time for King George VI's coronation, the team aimed not only to inspect various weapons but also to gather the latest technological information in machinery and electronics from Europe.

Belonging to the Electrical Research Department, our task was vital in collecting information on electronic technology. Especially for Captain Sanada and myself, engaged in radio-related research, it was imperative to grasp the development status of equipment utilizing high-frequency radio waves as much as possible.

At that time, in Japan, successful development had been achieved in collaboration between the military and private companies for equipment capable of transmitting and receiving meter waves, as well as experimental transmission and reception of centimeter waves, which have shorter wavelengths. The magnetron I was responsible for was one of the key components used in transmitting centimeter waves.

Countries worldwide had already realized the potential of utilizing these extremely shortwave radio waves for various weapons such as reconnaissance and attacks. In our country, emphasis was placed on detecting and measuring the distance of distant targets by capturing reflected waves from objects. Additionally, attention was given to the guidance of ships and aircraft at night and as a means of communication.

The target countries for this gathering of electronic technology information were believed to be Britain and Germany, both considered advanced in electronic technology. Particularly in the development of imaging devices and detectors utilizing short waves, Britain was expected to be ahead. Although relations between Japan and Britain were gradually becoming delicate, at this time, normal diplomatic relations existed between the two countries.

Colonel Sanada, with a request from Dr. Takayanagi who wanted to obtain television-related materials, had already arranged a meeting with Mr. Marconi, a renowned figure in radio research in Britain. With the backing of the British government, Captain Sanada and I, as military personnel, had the exceptional opportunity to meet with Mr. Marconi upon our arrival in Britain in late May of 1937, and engage in an exchange of views on television.

Once the greetings were exchanged, I took out the prepared materials from my bag and placed them in front of Mr. Marconi. The contents of the materials were explained by the commander.

"This is a paper on the television system recently researched by Dr. Takayanagi in Japan. It extracts transmission signals electronically from the scanning lines of the imaging tube. Electronic imaging tubes have been improved from mechanical scanning to electronic. Additionally, on the receiving end, by displaying scanning lines of the image in two parts, motion pictures are projected onto the cathode-ray tube. In another paper, although still an idea at present, it describes a method to achieve color television by performing scanning divided into RGB colors, and on the receiving end, conducting separate scanning for each color three times."

As Captain Sanada explained, Mr. Marconi flipped through the handed papers. The doctor was interested in the research of Dr. Takayanagi, who had successfully conducted the world's first experiment (displaying the character "イ") on electronic television using imaging tubes and cathode-ray tubes. He had hoped to obtain the latest research results. He had expected significant progress from past experiments that had been published, but it seemed that wasn't the case.