Mizuno Corporation

Mizuno was founded in 1906 as Mizuno Brothers, Ltd. by Rihachi Mizuno (1884-1970) and his younger brother Rizo, in Osaka. The shop sold Western-world sundries, including baseballs, and then in 1907 began to sell order-made athletic wear. In 1910 the shop moved to Umeda-Shinmichi and its name was changed to Mizuno Shop. In 1913 the firm began to manufacture baseballs and gloves. In 1933 Mizuno presented Star Line, the first Japanese made golf clubs. By 1935 its golf club showroom was the world's largest. In 1941 the company name was changed to Mizuno Co., Ltd, and has remained the same since. During World War II, Mizuno manufactured military ordnance for Japan's war effort.

The first American factory was established in Los Angeles, under the denomination American Mizuno in 1961. During the following years, Mizuno signed sponsorship deals with some of the most prominent personalities in sports, such as track and field athlete Carl Lewis, the All Blacks rugby team, former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Joe Montana for most of his years in the NFL, the Manu Samoa rugby team, Czech tennis player Ivan Lendl, and golf player Nick Faldo and baseball Hall of Famer Rickey Henderson.

To gain a foothold in the baseball glove market in the United States, the mobile "Mizuno Baseball Workshop" was introduced in the late 1970s to service major league clubs during spring training in Arizona and Florida. The forty-foot (12 m) van contained extensive leather-working equipment and was operated by two skilled Japanese craft workers who could produce made-to-order gloves and repair all brands. Rihachi Mizuno also devoted time to promote sports ranging from research and production of equipment or hosting baseball tournaments in his native Japan. A sports foundation was established in his will, and he was inducted into the Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame in 1971.

The company also expanded its operation centres opening new factories in Germany, France, China, Scotland and Hong Kong.

In 2023, the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO)'s Madrid Yearly Review ranked Mizuno's number of marks applications filled under the Madrid System as 8th in the world, with 79 trademarks applications submitted during 2023.

To commemorate the company's 30th anniversary, the company began manufacturing gliders in 1936. Among the company's military design efforts included the Mizuno Shinryu, a proposed rocket-powered interceptor that never left the prototyping stages, and the Mizuno MXZ1, a training glider.