Although started in the last months of the Second World War, Yashima Precision Works first camera was produced in 1953 as a private-label Pigeonflex 6 x 6 TLR design for Endō Kamera-ten – a large Tokyo camera store.
Later in the year, Yashima introduced its first camera under its own name, the Yashimaflex, another 6x6 cm twin lens reflex (TLR). The next year the Yashimaflex was followed by a number of models called Yashicaflex.
