The company began in December, 1949 in Nagano, Japan, when the Yashima Seiki Company was founded. The company initally produced electic clocks, however by 1953 they had completed their first camera. In 1957, Yashima founded Yashica, Inc., a subsidiary arm in New York City to manage marketing efforts in the USA. In October 1983, Yashica Company Ltd. was acquired by ceramics giant Kyocera. In 2005, Kyocera halted production on all Contax, Yashica, and other Kyocera branded film and digital cameras.