Origin of Citizen

In the Japan of the 1920s, most of the watches sold were pocket watches imported from overseas. Determined to create a Japan-made rival product, the Shokosha Watch Research Institute, the precursor of CITIZEN, launched its own pocket watch in 1924. As a first product, it was magnificent—but it lacked a name. Tokyo Mayor Count Shinpei Goto was asked to suggest one. The name he came up with was “CITIZEN,” an expression of the hope that as many people as possible—citizens—would use and cherish the watch for a long time.

With the birth of the Citizen Watch Company in 1930, the name of that first pocket watch became the name of the company. A watch that is an integral part of people’s lives. This, the brand concept of The CITIZEN, has been something we have aspired to since the early days of the company and that first pocket watch.