• K. Hirata
  GUAS, Kanagawa
• E. Kikutani, M. Sekimoto
  KEK, Tsukuba
• Y. Takaiwa
  Tsukuba University of Technology, Kasuga Campus, Tsukuba, Ibaraki

Japanese research to build accelerators for high energy physics started with Electron Synchrotron at Institute of Nuclear Study, Tokyo (INS). The development was slow in the beginning, in particular before the construction of KEK-PS. After the experience of TRISTAN, KEKB, one of the best colliders in the world, was eventually constructed. We will review the history of high energy accelerators in Japan from physics, technological and particularly social points of view referring to documents at KEK and other archives. This is the first of a series of papers and will outline the over-all view.