The success of the “Tokubijō” belt buckle led to Hayakawa starting his own metallurgical processing, which then developed into the present-day Sharp Corporation.

Due to difficult domestic circumstances, he was adopted by the Ideno family.

He left primary school after second grade due to his family’s poverty and was apprenticed to a maker of metallic ornaments.

In 1913, Hayakawa acquired the patent of an innovative water faucet, and in 1915, he developed the prototype of the Sharp automatic pencil still sold today.

Later, he expanded his enterprise into electronics manufacturing of radios, tape-recorders and televisions.