Cosina is the successor to Nikō (or "Nikoh"), a company set up as a lens processing factory in February 1959, which was a pioneer in optical polishing and lens grinding in Japan. In 1966, it also started to manufacture 35 mm compact cameras and 8 mm cine cameras, and a year later started the manufacture of 35mm film SLR cameras; in 1968 it started a glass melting factory. Nikō changed its name to Cosina in 1973. (The first part of the name is a reference to the "Koshi" area within Nakano, where the founder came from; while the 'Na' represents Nakano.)