Sorry, but your spelling is off slightly, too... The earliest Canon cameras were called Kwanon and named after Kannon, the Buddhist goddess of mercy. Partly this might be because the founder of the company was appalled at the high cost of Leica and Contax cameras he copied. The Leica Model II from 1932 sold for 420 yen and at that time a high-paying job in Tokyo might pay 70 yen a month! According to the Canon Museum, when asked about disassembling a Leica in hopes of producing a Japanese-made high-grade 35mm cameras, Yoshida later explained:
“I just disassembled the camera without any specific plan, but simply to take a look at each part. I found there were no special items like diamonds inside the camera. The parts were made from brass, aluminum, iron and rubber. I was surprised that when these inexpensive materials were put together into a camera, it demanded an exorbitant price. This made me angry”.

It sounds as if he was hoping to offer a more "mercifully" priced product! Hence: the Kwanon, with a logo depicting the goddess. Also, Yoshida was an ardent Buddhist. In fact, the lens he originally designed for the camera was called a "Kasyapa", named after Mahakasyapa, a disciple of Buddha.

But now Kwanon cameras or Kasyapa lenses were ever actually produced. They only ever existed as illustrations or non-functional mockups. Yoshida ended up leaving the company before any actual cameras were produced.

The Hansa Canon of 1936 was the first Canon camera. It was actually a joint project of Precision (Seiki) Optical Instruments Laboratory and Nippon Kogaku (later Nikon), who were very well established but primarily making optical products for the military such as binoculars and periscopes at that time, but looking for civilian-market products to be involved in, and discussions with the management of Precision Optical led to the Canon camera, ten years before the first Nikon camera. Nippon Kogaku not only provided the lens (a 50mm f3.5 Nikkor copy of similar Leitz), they also manufactured the viewfinder and rangefinder optics, and the lens mount. Precision Optical produced the shutter, camera chassis and housings, as well as the final assembly.

About the same time that the Hansa Canon was introduced, the company changed it's name to Japan Precision Optical Instruments Laboratory, reflecting a lot of nationalism of the era. The Hansa Canon, with Nikkor lens and a leather case, sold for about 275 yen in 1936. At it's peak, early production was about 10 units a month. It is considered the first Japanese-made, high quality, interchangeable-lens, 35mm film, rangefinder camera (looks a lot like a Leica... but also has some Contax influences... and supposedly great care was taken to avoid patent infringements with either of the German manufacturers' products).

The company was reorganized and it's name changed again in 1937, to Precision Optical Industry Co., Ltd. This is the date today's Canon Corporation recognizes as it's founding. There were other camera models developed and the first Serenar lenses being designed and prototyped at this time, although they didn't actually go into production until after WWI, in 1946 during the Occupied Japan era. From 1938 through 1945, all optical and photographic industry companies were required to dedicate their production toward the war effort and were under the control of the War Ministry. After the war, during the occupation, the photo industry was one that was tapped to help the country rebuild it's economy. This time period was very instrumental in expanding the sale of Japanese products internationally. Today's Canon Corporation recognizes the Canon J II, S and S II, all of 1946 as it's first "official" camera models.

But it might be argued that the Hansa Canon camera and it's Nikkor lens was the first "baby step" toward not just one, but two of the biggest and most influential camera and lens manufacturers in existence today!

More info and photos of a nice example of the camera and lens here: http://www.pacificrimcamera.com/pp/canon/hansa/hansa.htm

The Japanese meaning of the word Nikon ....

Nail anis a Japanese spiritual practice of extreme gratitude' being/feeling deeply grateful for each and every blessing, large and small , down to being grateful when you flip a switch and a line comes on or get something stuck in the aircraft controls and get it unstuck in the nick of time ...

Canon on the other hand means a regulation or dogma decreed by law or church law that says Canon in control column .. Your screwed ...

I was sitting under an apple tree pondering gravity .. No an apple didn't drop on my head ....a Nikon did ...that's when I discovered the Law of Nikon ...unlike Newton ...,