History
Leonardo Da Vinci envisioned a mechanical pedometer as a device with military applications. The modern all-mechanical pedometer was introduced later to the Americans by Thomas Jefferson. Jefferson obtained a unit from France, but it is not known if he modified the design, or introduced it to the US as is. Although this pedometer is widely attributed to Jefferson, proof is difficult to obtain as he never applied for any patents on any of his inventions. In 1780, Abraham-Louis Perrelet created the first pedometer, measuring the steps and distance while walking.
In 1965, a pedometer called a manpo-kei (meaning "10,000 steps meter" 万歩計) was marketed in Japan by Y. Hatano. Y. Hatano promoted "manpo-kei pedometers" from 1985, after his research was accepted as proving that 10,000 Steps A Day was the proper balance of caloric intake and activity-based caloric expenditure to maintain a healthy body, and Jiro Kato who is Yamasa Tokei Keiki Co., Ltd., Tokyo Japan founder, Akira and Yasuji Kato's Father, manufactured pedometers recognized to be accurate, and, named them, "manpo-meter" (later known as "manpo-kei") as the world first invented device to measure number of steps of walking. "Manpo-kei" is a registered trademark of Yamasa Tokei Keiki Co., Ltd.
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