I believe it was Ric Hjertberg who told me that Shimano started getting respect for quality hubs way back when they started making hubs in the 1970's, and these were the 333-branded hi-flange hubs which came on many Japanese bikes, particularly Nishiki lower-to-mid-level bikes like the Olympic and International around 1974.

I concur that these hubs (not the 3-speed hubs) look quite decent, with the extra material thickness or "butting" at the edge of the flanges a la Campagnolo and Suzue.

Shimano's less-than-stellar hubs were their 3-speed hubs, their earliest non-Dura-Ace cassette hubs, their 1990's "silent clutch" hubs and their brief 2000's 10-speed-only models, but the rest of their hub offerings have been stellar.