(September 12, 1895 - 1965) was a Japanese businessman who is credited with the invention of "shokuhin sampuru", the plastic models of menu items commonly displayed in restaurant street-front windows in Japan.[1] [2]
Iwasaki was born in Gujo Hachiman Japan on September 12, 1895.[3] He is said to have been inspired to create his first shokuhin sampuru after seeing drops of candle wax forming on the tatami mat floor of his apartment.[4] After many months of trial and error, Iwasaki was able to produce a fake omelette, complete with simulated tomato sauce, that his wife thought was real on first glance.[2] In 1932, his fake omelette was used in a display at a department store in Osaka.[2]
He later opened a company called Iwasaki Be-I Co., Ltd., in Gujo Hachiman, his hometown. The company still enjoys a large share, an estimated 60% of the Japanese market for shokuhin sampuru,[5] and the town of Gujo Hachiman is now known as the food replica capital of the Japan.[5] [4]
Iwasaki was featured as a Google Doodle on 12 September 2016.[6]