IN HISTORY

“IN HISTORY”: The history of Sharp and design – A joint project with Sharp Technology Innovation Museum commemorating its 40th anniversary

Hello, my name is Fujiwara, and I am from the Sharp Technology Innovation Museum. This is a series in which Sharp Museum guides myself and Nakatani talk about Sharp products and history. I hope this will be an opportunity for you to get you interested in Sharp’s history.

This story is about the capsule microwave oven, RE-2 launched in 1987.
“On the table or in your room, the capsule microwave oven is not limited to the kitchen”: The marketing copy of the time conveys a sense of liberation and openness.

The fun of heating food at the dining table

Is this a microwave oven?
No longer a square metal box that sits quietly in the corner of the kitchen, the microwave oven became round and could be placed on the dining table to assist in cooking.

The microwave, which allowed users to watch soup bubble up as it warmed through the see-through capsule, must have been a great conversation starter for the family around the dinner table.

Based on the concept of “for use on the dining table,” the base body of the RE-2 was available in three colors—white, beige, and black—which was a departure from the unique colors that were popular in cooking appliances at that time, such as vivid red, pink, green, and blue, which stood out even in the corner of the kitchen. The base body was then covered with a smoked glass dome to blend in with any table setting, and the colors do not distract from the food on the table or the interior design.
The round dome appears to be saying, “The dishes are the stars of the table. So, pay attention to the dishes, not me!”

The backdrop: The new lifestyle of that glamorous era

The capsule microwave oven was born in 1987 when Japan was in the midst of the bubble economy. At this time, numerous products were developed to meet the lifestyle trend of wanting to enjoy both work and hobbies/life by suggesting ways to make better use of  time.

Some of these products included a barcode microwave that reads a barcode of a receipt in your cookbook and cooks it for you (my mother used to bake cakes with it), an upright vacuum cleaner, which is now common, a combo washer-dryer, a home bakery that can bake bread, cook rice, and make mochi, and many more…

In 1987, the capsule microwave oven was given a Good Design Award by Japan’s Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI) (now known as the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry [METI]) for its “shape with a reason,” which was born from the desire to make cooking fun and to use it as a new tool for discussion at the dining table.

A novelty and appeal that can be felt even today

Unfortunately, the lifestyle of using a microwave oven at the dinner table never took off, but I find RE-2 endearing, and I can’t help but want to use it while imagining the scene at the dinner table back then. While it is a product released more than 30 years ago, it still has a very magical appeal.

That’s all for now! Next time, we will introduce the EL-8152, the world’s thinnest credit card-size calculator, and will describe the historical background that led to the “calculator wars.”

[Sharp Museum: Commemorating its 40th anniversary in November 2021]

This is a series written by Sharp Technology Innovation Museum guides Fujiwara and Nakatani about Sharp products and history. We hope this will be an opportunity get you interested in Sharp’s history.