Hi all, Two hours after contacting them I heard from Jamis (a record...most companies I approach about things vintage never even reply !) Turns out there is a connection between Jamis and Maruishi - but it's much later than the subsidiary question/topic below
Their agent reports:
> Well Maruishi IS a manufacturer, however they manufacture bikes that
> they produce for the Japanese Market. They determined around 8 years
> ago that they wanted to change their "image" and in doing so they
> determined that they wanted to branded product, and so they selected
> JAMIS and became the JAMIS distributor in Japan.
Rich Pinder,
(obsessed in) Van Nuys, CA
>
> I believe that's Jamis.
Rich Pinder wrote:
> Morning all,
>
> From a late 70's catalog, I was just reading about this bicycle company:
>
> "Japans oldest and leading manufacurer of bicycles.... annual
> capacity of 1,000,000..... In 1884 Maruishi imported bicycles for
> the first time into Japan ....."
>
> It also states that in the 70's they had a "wholly owned subsidiary in
> the United States"
> Does anyone recall who this subsidiary was (is) ??
>
> Thanks !
> Rich Pinder
> Van Nuys, CA