KOKUYO History: From Ledger Covers to Campus Notes
KOKUYO began in October 1905 as Kuroda Hyoshiten, a small Osaka shop where Zentaro Kuroda made covers for Japanese account books. It adopted the Kokuyo mark in 1917, took the name KOKUYO Co., Ltd. in 1961 and launched the Campus Note in 1975. It is an independent company listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange Prime market.
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Key takeaways
- Zentaro Kuroda, born in Toyama in 1879, opened his ledger-cover shop in Osaka in October 1905 at age 26; by 1908 he was making whole account books of exactly 100 sheets.
- The name comes from the 1917 trademark 国誉 (kokuyo), "the pride of the province": Kuroda's home province of Etchu, today's Toyama, not Japan as a whole.
- The perfect-bound Campus Note came out in 1975, ten years after the Campus name first appeared on spiral notebooks; KOKUYO says it had sold more than 3.7 billion by the end of 2024.
- KOKUYO listed in Tokyo and Osaka in 1971, bought India's Camlin in 2011 and reported consolidated sales of 359.8 billion yen (about US$2.3 billion) for 2025, with 8,079 staff.
- No larger group owns KOKUYO. It held a Pentel stake from 2019 but sold all 45.6% to PLUS in 2022.
KOKUYO is the company behind the Campus notebook, the Jibun Techo planner and a long run of clever desk tools. Every date below comes from KOKUYO’s own Japanese pages: its history page, its company chronicle, its investor FAQ and its news releases, translated by us.
What is the history of KOKUYO?
KOKUYO began in October 1905 as a one-man shop in Osaka making covers for Japanese account books, and grew into one of Japan’s largest makers of stationery and office furniture. Founder Zentaro Kuroda registered the Kokuyo mark in 1917, and the company took that name, KOKUYO Co., Ltd., in 1961.
KOKUYO is still independent. Its company profile lists it on the Tokyo Stock Exchange Prime market, with consolidated sales of 359.8 billion yen (about US$2.3 billion) for 2025 and 8,079 employees. Our who owns which stationery brands story lists it among the makers no larger group owns.
KOKUYO timeline: 1905 to 2025
From a ledger-cover shop to 3.7 billion Campus notebooks, KOKUYO’s history runs 120 years. Dates are from KOKUYO’s Japanese history page and chronicle unless noted.
| Date | Event | Source |
|---|---|---|
| October 1905 | Zentaro Kuroda opens Kuroda Hyoshiten (黒田表紙店) in Osaka, making covers for Japanese-style account books | KOKUYO history |
| 1908 | Begins making the account books themselves | KOKUYO history |
| 1913 | Begins making Western-style ledgers | KOKUYO history |
| 1914 | Renamed Kuroda Kokkodo; adds sales slips, letter pads and carbon-copy books | KOKUYO chronicle |
| 1917 | Adopts the trademark 国誉 (Kokuyo) | KOKUYO chronicle |
| 1936 | Moves to Higashinari ward, Osaka | KOKUYO history |
| 1959 | Surveying field book (測量野帳) launched | KOKUYO history |
| 1961 | Renamed KOKUYO Co., Ltd.; Yao paper-products plant opens | KOKUYO history |
| 1965 | Campus name appears on spiral-bound notebooks; first steel desk | KOKUYO chronicle |
| 1971–1972 | Listed in Tokyo and Osaka, second then first section | KOKUYO IR FAQ |
| 1975 | Perfect-bound Campus Note launched | KOKUYO chronicle |
| 2003 | Kadokeshi eraser launched | KOKUYO history |
| 2004 | All businesses split into subsidiaries under a holding company | KOKUYO history |
| 2005 | 100th anniversary and a new logo; Dot Liner tape glue launched | KOKUYO history |
| 2009 | Harinacs staple-free stapler launched | KOKUYO history |
| 2011 | Buys shares in India’s Camlin, renamed Kokuyo Camlin; fifth-generation Campus | KOKUYO history |
| 2015 | Merges its furniture and stationery subsidiaries back into KOKUYO Co., Ltd.; Soft Ring notebook launched | KOKUYO history |
| 2019 | Takes a minority stake in Pentel | KOKUYO disclosure |
| 2021 | THE CAMPUS, its Tokyo Shinagawa office and public space, opens | KOKUYO history |
| September 2025 | Campus, at 50, relaunched as a brand for ways of learning | KOKUYO release |
Who founded KOKUYO?
Zentaro Kuroda, born in Toyama Prefecture in 1879, founded KOKUYO at 26. KOKUYO’s history page says he went into business for himself in Osaka and opened Kuroda Hyoshiten, a maker of covers for Japanese-style account books, in October 1905.
His first trademark was Maruzen, his own first name in a circle. KOKUYO’s chronicle reads it as a pledge to take personal responsibility for every product.
The history page lists three founding principles in his words: to be useful to society through products, to make things from the buyer’s point of view, and to treat failure as a stepping stone to success.
In 1908 Kuroda began making the account books themselves. KOKUYO says he had the paper made smoother for the shift from brush to pen, and insisted on exactly 100 sheets, when many rival books held 96 or 98.
Why is the company called KOKUYO?
The name is the trademark 国誉 (kokuyo), which means “the pride of the province”: Kuroda’s home province of Etchu, today’s Toyama, rather than Japan. KOKUYO’s chronicle says he chose it in 1917 to keep the promise he made at 19, when family and friends saw him off from home, to become the light and pride of his province.
The mark showed the characters with a rising sun and cherry blossoms, so that it would honor the whole country as well. KOKUYO’s investor FAQ adds a note of self-discipline: the name was a reminder not to forget his first resolve after small successes.
The company itself was called Kuroda Kokkodo from 1914. Only in 1961 did it become KOKUYO Co., Ltd., the first time the company name and the trademark matched. The characters later gave way to katakana, and in 2005, its 100th year, KOKUYO replaced its 1981 logo with the one it uses today.
When did KOKUYO make the Campus notebook?
The perfect-bound Campus Note came out in 1975, but the Campus name first appeared ten years earlier, in 1965, on spiral-bound notebooks. KOKUYO’s chronicle says those first Campus notebooks were the industry’s first with pictures and photos on the cover, and sold poorly at first.
A “Universities of the World” series showing Western college campuses then became a hit with students, in the years of Ivy League fashion in Japan. KOKUYO kept the name and, after work on a sturdier perfect binding that holds the pages together, launched the plain-covered notebook in 1975.
The design has changed four times since; the fifth generation went on sale in October 2011. A notebook made of just a cover, pages and a cloth spine tape has been refined for 50 years, KOKUYO says. Our KOKUYO Campus notebook guide covers today’s sizes and rulings, and our A5 vs B5 guide explains why Campus is a B5 notebook in Japan.
On August 20, 2025 KOKUYO said it had sold more than 3.7 billion Campus notebooks by the end of 2024. From September 2025 it turned Campus into a brand about how students learn, not just a notebook.
How did KOKUYO grow beyond paper?
From the 1960s KOKUYO moved from paper into files, steel furniture and office design. Its history lists a filing cabinet in 1960, a steel desk in 1965 and an office chair in 1966, as companies and their paperwork grew in Japan’s boom years.
In 1969 KOKUYO opened its new Osaka head office to the public as a working showroom, with staff at work among its own products. It called the building an experiment for hearing customers and improving products, an idea it still runs as its “live office”.
The company listed on the Tokyo and Osaka exchanges in 1971 and moved to their first sections in 1972. In 2004 it split every business into subsidiaries under a holding company, then in 2015 merged its furniture and stationery companies back into KOKUYO Co., Ltd.
Which KOKUYO stationery is best known abroad?
Outside Japan, KOKUYO is known for the Campus notebook, the Jibun Techo planner and a string of desk tools from the 2000s. The company’s own timeline dates the Kadokeshi eraser to 2003, Dot Liner tape glue to 2005, the Harinacs staple-free stapler to 2009 and the Soft Ring notebook to 2015.
Our guides cover the Jibun Techo DIARY 2027, the Neo Critz stand-up pen case, the Dot Liner and the Harinacs Compact Alpha. KOKUYO’s Japanese timeline doesn’t date the Jibun Techo or the Neo Critz; for the Jibun Techo, our guide relies on press reports.
Abroad, KOKUYO’s history lists companies in Thailand, Hong Kong and Malaysia from 1996, China from 2003 and Vietnam from 2005. In 2011 it bought shares in Camlin, an Indian maker of art and school supplies, and renamed it Kokuyo Camlin.
Who owns KOKUYO today?
Nobody else does: KOKUYO Co., Ltd. is a listed, independent company, led by president Hidekuni Kuroda. Its company profile lists it on the Tokyo Stock Exchange Prime market and gives its head office as Grand Green Osaka Park Tower in Osaka’s Kita ward.
KOKUYO has been a buyer rather than a target. Its best-known deal attempt was for Pentel: KOKUYO took a minority stake in 2019 and offered 3,500 yen (about US$22) a share to reach a majority, but Pentel turned to PLUS Corporation instead. In 2022 KOKUYO sold all of its 45.6% to PLUS, as our story on PLUS, Sailor and Pentel tells.
What couldn’t we confirm?
KOKUYO doesn’t publish the exact day it opened in 1905, only the month, October. Its pages give years, not days, for most of the events above.
KOKUYO’s history page lists the 1932 letter-pad launch twice and places the 1917 trademark after it, so we follow the chronicle for the order of the name changes. Its timeline also doesn’t name the year the Jibun Techo first went on sale; press reports give 2011 to 2013.
Frequently asked questions
What does KOKUYO mean?
It is the reading of 国誉, "the pride of the province". Founder Zentaro Kuroda chose it as his trademark in 1917 to remember his promise, made when he left home at 19, to bring honor to Etchu, today's Toyama Prefecture. The company took the name in 1961.
Who was Zentaro Kuroda?
Zentaro Kuroda, born in Toyama Prefecture in 1879. At 26 he went into business for himself in Osaka, opening Kuroda Hyoshiten, a shop making covers for Japanese-style account books, in October 1905.
Is KOKUYO a Japanese company?
Yes. KOKUYO Co., Ltd. is based in Osaka and listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange Prime market. No other company owns it; it reported 8,079 group employees at the end of 2025.
When did the Campus notebook come out?
The perfect-bound Campus Note that KOKUYO still sells came out in 1975. The Campus name is older: KOKUYO used it from 1965 on spiral-bound notebooks with pictures on the cover. The current fifth-generation design dates from October 2011.
How many Campus notebooks has KOKUYO sold?
More than 3.7 billion by the end of 2024, KOKUYO said in August 2025, when it marked the notebook's 50th year and turned Campus into a wider brand for how students learn.
Does KOKUYO own Pentel?
No. KOKUYO built a minority stake in Pentel in 2019 and tried to win a majority, but sold all of its 45.6% to PLUS Corporation in 2022. PLUS now controls Pentel.
Does KOKUYO only make stationery?
No. Office furniture has been a large business since KOKUYO's first steel desk in 1965, and it also designs offices and runs Kaunet, its office-supplies mail-order business, started in 2001.
Sources
- KOKUYO (Japanese): 価値観と歴史 (values and history; founder Zentaro Kuroda; timeline 1905–2024)
- KOKUYO (Japanese): 会社概要 (company profile: founded October 1905, TSE Prime, 2025 sales and staff)
- KOKUYO Chronicle (Japanese): 社名と商標 (company name and trademark: Maruzen, Kokuyo 1917, rename 1961)
- KOKUYO Chronicle (Japanese): キャンパスノート (Campus name 1965, perfect-bound Campus 1975, fifth generation 2011)
- KOKUYO IR (Japanese): よくあるご質問 (FAQ: origin of the name; listings 1971, 1972 and 1988)
- KOKUYO (Japanese): Campus becomes a brand for ways of learning, news release, August 20, 2025 (3.7 billion sold by end of 2024)
- KOKUYO (Japanese): 持分法適用関連会社の異動（連結子会社化）に関するお知らせ, TDnet disclosure, November 15, 2019 (Pentel stake; PDF)