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In Japanese, the word Janome (pronounced Ja-NO-me) means "eye of the snake." The company earned the name in the 1920s when founder Yosaku Ose, a pioneer in Japanese sewing manufacturing, began to use a round metal bobbin system instead of the traditional oblong shuttle-type bobbin. The Japanese thought that the new round bobbin looked like a snake's eye, and from the innovative design, a name was born. Not only has the name stuck, but the design itself has stuck as well, as it significantly improved efficiency and speed of the sewing machine. To this day, all sewing machines being manufactured are engineered to use the superior circular bobbin.
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After acquiring its first mass production factory, Janome would soon entrench itself as a leading sewing machine supplier and innovator, and the demand grew outside Japan. In 1960, they purchased the 'New Home' sewing machine brand, which turned out to be a successful move as they sought to expand to the United States.
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Yosaku Ose,
founder of Janome
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Janome's famous research & development center in Tokyo
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In 1964, having recognized that the growing success of their company was rooted in the spirit of innovation, Janome opened up a research and development center in Tokyo. The rest is history. They stunned the sewing world in 1979 when they released the Memory 7, the first programmable sewing machine the world had ever seen. By 1990, Janome solved another engineering riddle when they put professional style embroidery into the hands of sewing lovers with the Memory Craft 8000, the first computerized sewing machine with exclusive embroidery features. 10 years later they struck gold again when they launched Memory Craft 10000, a sewing machine which could be plugged into a computer with a USB.
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Janome would proceed to welcome the computerized sewing age with arms open wide. These days, the MC15000 carries on the innovative legacy of its Memory Craft predecessors, offering sewists high quality, easy to use embroidery with the help of Janome's revolutionary iPad Embroidery Apps. Meanwhile, the recently released Continental M7 Professional Sewing and Quilting Machine offers 13.5 inches of throat space, by far the largest in the industry. Other must-have features include their presser foot hover feature and the Acufeed Flex System.
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Janome Continental M7 Professional
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Janome's AcuDesign Embroidery App compatible with the MC 15000
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Here at The Sewing Machine, we have a special place in our heart for Janome, despite that they tend to fly under the radar of a lot of sewists. It might be that for many years their machines were branded "New Home" in the U.S. market, so the name Janome is not as recognizable. Even today you will find Janome-built machines branded under the guise of Necchi, Elna, and Juki nameplates.
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Elna 3230 mechanical sewing machine, manufactured by Janome but with the Elna nameplate
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Juki HZL-LB5100, one of our favorite entry level sewing machines, also manufactured by Janome
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There is no other way to say it: we absolutely love Janome products. They manufacturer excellent home sewing machines in their own factories, whether you are looking for something entry level, or a top of the line super-machine. The simple fact is that Janome makes outstanding, trouble free sewing and embroidery machines. Their electronics, including circuit boards, display panels, etc. are the most reliable. On occasion I am asked: what type of person is a Janome sewist? I'd say it is somebody who appreciates the reliability and ease of use that Janome's Japanese engineering provides.
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