computer science

Hitachi

Hitachi is a computer science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Hitachi rather than just read about it. In short: Hitachi, Ltd. (Japanese pronunciation: [çi̥taꜜtɕi]) is a Japanese multinational conglomerate founded in 1910 and headquartered in Chiyoda, Tokyo.

Key takeaways

Hitachi belongs to computer science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Hitachi to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Hitachi from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Hitachi, Ltd. (Japanese pronunciation: [çi̥taꜜtɕi]) is a Japanese multinational conglomerate founded in 1910 and headquartered in Chiyoda, Tokyo. The company is active in various industries, including digital systems, power and renewable energy, railway systems, healthcare products, and financial systems. The company was founded as an electrical machinery manufacturing subsidiary of the Kuhara Mining Plant in Hitachi, Ibaraki, by engineer Namihei Odaira in 1910. It began operating as an independent company under its current name in 1920. Hitachi is listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange and is a key component of the Nikkei 225 and TOPIX Core30 indices. As of June 2024, it has a market capitalisation of 16.9 trillion yen, making it the fourth largest Japanese company by market value. In terms of global recognition, Hitachi was ranked 38th in the 2012 Fortune Global 500 and 129th in the 2012 Forbes Global 2000. Hitachi is a highly globalised conglomerate. In the fiscal year 2023, it generated approximately 61% of its total revenue of 9.7 trillion yen from international markets. The major contributors to this global revenue were Asia, Europe, and North America, with each region accounting for 22%, 16%, and 16% of the total revenue, respectively.

Overview

Historically a large conglomerate active in various fields, including electric generators, consumer electronics, trains, semiconductors, computers, and nuclear reactors, Hitachi recorded a record loss of 787.3 billion yen in the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis. The company sold numerous unprofitable operations and ventured into new areas such as digital systems and renewable energy. As a result of these moves, Hitachi returned to profitability by March 2011. Today, Hitachi's corporate activities are organised into three large sections: Digital Systems and Services, Green Energy and Mobility, and Connective Industries. All 12 CEOs the company has had, including founder Odaira, have had engineering backgrounds, with eight of them, including Odaira, being alumni of the University of Tokyo's Faculty of Engineering.

Logos and symbols

Hitachi has been using a monogram of the two Kanji characters that make up the word 'Hitachi' (日立) as its corporate symbol (monshō). Conceived by Namihei Odaira, this symbol appeared on most of Hitachi's products until 1991. In 2000, Hitachi adopted the advertising slogan 'Inspire the Next', and the corporate logo was gradually phased out as this statement was incorporated into the branding. However, the symbol is still used to represent the company rather than its products or services, such as in the favicon of its official website. Since 1975, Hitachi has been using images of a currently-183-year-old Samanea saman tree, known as the Hitachi Tree (hitachi no ki), located at Moanalua Gardens, Hawaii, in most of its television commercials as a symbol of the conglomerate. The advert song introduced alongside the tree is also called Hitachi no Ki, or Konoki Nanno Ki (lit. 'What tree is this?'), after the song's opening lyrics. Three other trees have briefly represented the company, but since 1984, the current tree has been designated as the Hitachi Tree. In 2016, it was reported that the company spends around 50 million yen annually on its maintenance.

History

Founding (1910–1945)

Founded in 1910 in Ibaraki Prefecture by electrical engineer Namihei Odaira, Hitachi's first product was a 4-kilowatt induction motor, designed for copper mining. Originally an in-house venture of Fusanosuke Kuhara's mining company, Hitachi became independent in 1911 and moved its headquarters to Tokyo in 1918. The company's name 'Hitachi', combining the kanji for 'sun' (日, hi) and 'rise' (立, tachi), was coined by Odaira. While industrial machinery in Japan was usually powered by steam at the time, Odaira built water power stations in the mine and electrified almost all facilities in the factory. The company developed various electrical equipment later in its history. In 1924, Hitachi completed Japan's first mainline electric locomotive (JNR Class ED15). In 1932, the company started manufacturing elevators and electric refrigerators. The company also manufactured parts for the Imperial Japanese Armed Forces, such as the Hitachi Hatsukaze plane engine (produced from 1929 until the end of World War II) for both the Imperial Japanese Army and Imperial Japanese Navy.

… excerpt ends here. Continue reading the full article.

Illustrations

1968–1992 Hitachi logo with the corporate symbol on the left

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Hitachi

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Hitachi claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In computer science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Hitachi before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Hitachi ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Hitachi

In research: Hitachi appears in computer science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Hitachi in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Hitachi is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1940s initial public offerings, Aircraft engine manufacturers of Japan, Audio equipment manufacturers of Japan, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Hitachi outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Hitachi in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Hitachi means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Hitachi out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Hitachi in simple terms?

Hitachi, Ltd. (Japanese pronunciation: [çi̥taꜜtɕi]) is a Japanese multinational conglomerate founded in 1910 and headquartered in Chiyoda, Tokyo.

Why does Hitachi matter?

Because it connects several computer science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Hitachi?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Hitachi.