Famous Japanese company names: What do they mean?

Is that a giraffe or a kirin?  Read on to find out.

Last year, I wrote a post about Japanese inventions (http://ourmaninjapan101.blogspot.jp/2011/07/japanese-inventions.html), in which I mentioned that Japan has many world-famous companies.  I think we can all name several off the top of our head.  Before coming to Japan, I didn’t know the meaning of the names of these famous companies.  Now, after learning a little Japanese (and I do mean a little!), I have been able to figure some of them out.  I thought I would make this the topic of today’s post.  

As you can see from the table below, many companies are named after their founder.  Their founder’s name, like all personal Japanese names, has a literal meaning.  

Take care and thank you for reading.

Our Man in Japan.

Company Name	Literal Meaning	Japanese Characters	Notes
Suzuki	“Bell tree”	鈴木	Suzuki is the second most common family name in Japan.  In fact, it is probably the Japanese equivalent of “Smith.”  The company was founded by Michio Suzuki.
Mazda	“Pine field”	松田	Mazda is an anglicization of the word Matsuda, which is the name of the company’s founder, Jujiro Matsuda.  So if you would like to be a know-it-all, start referring to your RX-7 as a Matsuda!
Yamaha	“Mountain leaf”	山葉	Originally a manufacturer of pianos, Yamaha now makes almost everything!  Its founder was Torakusu Yamaha.
Honda	“Home field”	本田	The company takes its name from its founder, Soichiro Honda.  Honda is quite a common family name.
Kawasaki	“River peninsula”	川崎	Kawasaki is another common family name.  This manufacturing company was named after its founder, Shozo Kawasaki.  Kawasaki is also a large city not far from Tokyo.
Toyota	“Wealthy field”	豊田	The automotive company was named after its founder, Kiichiro Toyota.
Asahi	“Morning light”	朝日	There are several companies called Asahi other than the brewer.  The most well known would be TV Asahi and Asahi Newspapers.  There are also various places called Asahi.
Kirin	Kirin has no literal meaning.	麒麟	A kirin is a mythical creature which takes various forms in different cultures.  In Japan, it is portrayed as a mix between a deer and dragon.  The word “kirin” also means “giraffe” in Japanese, but the creature in the Kirin Beer logo is clearly not a giraffe!
Bridgestone	Bridgestone	石橋	The founder of Bridgestone was Shojiro Ishibashi.  Ishibashi literally means “stone bridge”.  He decided to market the company globally as Bridgestone.
Mitsubishi	“Three diamonds”	三菱	The three diamonds are clearly shown in the company logo.
Sanyo	“Three oceans”	三洋
Subaru	Subaru has no literal meaning	昴	Subaru is the name of a star constellation.  This is shown in the company logo.
Fujitsu	“Wealthy samurai road”	富士通
Nikon	Nikon has no literal meaning.	日本光学	Nikon is an abbreviation of the original company name, Nippon Kougaku, which means “Japanese Optics”.
Akai	“Red well”	赤井	This electronics company was named after its founder, Saburo Akai.
Kawai	“River confluence”	河合	This piano and keyboard manufacturer was named after its founder, Koichi Kawai.
Uniqlo	Uniqlo has no literal meaning.	N/A	Uniqlo is an abbreviation of “unique clothing”.  The first Uniqlo store was called “Unique Clothing Warehouse.”