The Noritake Company began as the creation of the Mura brothers in the year of 1904 and has since grown to be a worldwide brand for not only dinnerware but for industries which make use of high tech porcelain technologies. The Mura brothers were Japanese land barons who seemed to have the vision of taking the company global in their minds from the very beginning. Having traveled extensively to areas of Europe and the United States, the Mura brothers became very interested in the western technologies of dinnerware creation, as well as western styles and designs. Their dream was to use these western components in Japan, as they planned creation of their own line of signature dinnerware, known as Noritake.



Upon founding the company, they had an office in New York and produced china dinnerware in the style of the western world with western technologies, just as they had planned in the beginning. Their dinnerware creations became well known in the United States as an affordable alternative to European or American china, and the popularity of their brand grew quickly. Shortly after World War II, the company had built a strong reputation in America. The ceramic creation industry was regarded as an opportunity for jobs to be created for women. This made Noritake an important player in the revitalization of the post war economy in the United States.

In addition to this, Noritake sold a lot of their dinnerware to the members of the United States military who were stationed in Korea and Vietnam during the wars in those countries. The United States soldiers brought the Noritake dinnerware back home with them and the popularity of the Noritake brand in the United States grew even stronger. Then, in the years of the early sixties up through the eighties, United States' department stores were adding Japanese china to their product lines, which caused the brand to catch on even more.

Due to the greater affordability of the Noritake products, their brand grew increasingly popular during this time period, especially in their product lines for bridal registries. The Western designs caused them to be easily received by the consumers of the United States, and soon the Noritake brand become one of the most popular brands of china available. Today, Noritake is a large international company with numerous product lines selling in counties all over the world. In addition to this, they have branched into other markets outside of dinnerware, and now create components for electronic displays and high tech grinding wheels used by the automobile industry.

Today, the headquarters of Noritake is still in Japan in the city of Nagoya, where they manufacture not only their dinnerware products, but also high tech porcelain which is used for various applications in the electronic and automobile industries. They also have offices in Fair Lawn, New Jersey, where their financial and design issues are handled, as well as a distribution and retail division in Cincinnati. Their affordable prices, classy designs, and dishwasher safe materials, make them a practical and aesthetically pleasing solution for creating a great dinnerware collection.