Mitsubishi is a name you can draw: mitsu means three and hishi a diamond shape. The emblem first flew on the flags of three chartered steamships in 1870, long before the first Mitsubishi car.
- Country
-
Japan - Active
- Since 1970
- Founded by
- Yataro Iwasaki (founder of the Mitsubishi group)
- Website
- Official website ↗
Three old steamships and a clan in Tosa
Before there was a single Mitsubishi car, there was a flag flying from a ship. In 1870 a shipping business called Tsukumo Shokai was launched with three steamships chartered from the Tosa Clan, a powerful domain on the island of Shikoku. The man behind its rise was Yataro Iwasaki, born in 1835 in a small village in Tosa, who had worked his way up to run the clan’s trading operations in Osaka.
When the new Meiji government banned clan-run businesses, Yataro took over the management. The company was renamed Mitsukawa Shokai in 1872 and Mitsubishi Shokai in 1873. Mitsubishi counts 1870 as its starting point and Yataro as its founder. From shipping, the group spread into mining, shipbuilding, financial services and much more. After the Second World War the original organisation was broken up into independent companies, which is why so many unrelated firms share the name today.
From a ship’s flag to a radiator grille
According to Mitsubishi Motors, the three diamonds go right back to the beginning: Tsukumo Shokai flew the emblem on its ships’ flags from October 1870, when it took over the clan’s shipping business. The early diamonds were narrower, drawn at around 30 degrees. In 1910 the mark was updated to its present form, with diamonds at 60 degrees. Mitsubishi Goshi Kaisha filed a trademark application in March 1914, and the symbol was registered in June that year.
Cars came surprisingly early. Production of the Mitsubishi Model A started in 1917 at the Kobe shipyard of Mitsubishi Shipbuilding, and Mitsubishi Motors says the three diamonds sat on its radiator grille. By 1921 just 22 had been built, prototypes included.
The emblem also turned up on someone else’s vehicle. Mazda‘s own history notes that its first vehicle, the Mazda-go three-wheeler of 1931, wore the three diamonds next to the Mazda name, because Mitsubishi was selling the trucks at the time.
Mitsu plus hishi: a name that is a picture
Here is the neat part. The name doesn’t just sit next to the logo. The name is the logo. Mitsubishi explains that the word combines mitsu, meaning three, and hishi, meaning water chestnut, a word the Japanese have long used for a rhombus or diamond shape. In the middle of a word the h sound often becomes a b, so mitsu and hishi turn into mitsubishi. Three diamonds.
Why those three diamonds? Mitsubishi says Yataro chose the mark himself, and that it is suggestive of two family crests. One is the three-leaf crest of the Tosa Clan, his first employer. Mitsubishi Motors specifies three oak leaves, the crest of the clan’s lords, the Yamauchi family. The other is the three stacked rhombuses of the Iwasaki family crest. Notice how carefully the company words it: the mark is “suggestive of” these crests, and Mitsubishi Motors writes that “it is said” to derive from them.
You will often read that each diamond stands for a particular value, or that the shape echoes samurai heritage. Those are popular readings, but they don’t appear in the official explanation from the Mitsubishi group. What the group does say is that the mark carries more than 150 years of tradition and that keeping it a byword for quality and reliability is a top priority. A dedicated Corporate Name and Trademark Committee polices how it is used.
The years of MM and MMC
For a while, the diamonds weren’t the badge on the nose. In May 1976 Mitsubishi Motors introduced a new MM logo built from the first letters of its name, and the Galant Σ was the first car to wear it. Its two halves had their own colours. The “mighty red” on the left, then the corporate colour, stood for sincerity and vitality. The “lofty blue” on the right stood for youth and fulfilling futures.
In February 1982 an MMC symbol arrived on the front of the Mirage II and Lancer Fiore, created to represent every Mitsubishi Motors vehicle. It lasted ten years. In May 1992, timed with the fully redesigned Galant and Eterna, Mitsubishi Motors replaced the MMC logo with the three diamonds in ads, showrooms and on the cars themselves. The founder’s emblem was back on the grille.
Desert wins and plug-in firsts
Mitsubishi Motors itself is younger than its badge. It was established on 22 April 1970, when Mitsubishi Heavy Industries spun off its car business as part of a joint venture with Chrysler. Over the decades its cars have gone from tiny family runabouts to Dakar winners and electric pioneers.
Landmark Mitsubishis, decade by decade
- 1917: Model A. Mitsubishi calls it the first series-produced passenger car in Japan. Its body panels were fixed to a wooden frame and the interior was crafted by experienced horse coachbuilders.
- 1960: Mitsubishi 500. A compact family car and Mitsubishi’s first mass-production passenger car after the Second World War.
- 1976: Galant Σ. The first car to carry the red and blue MM symbol on its front.
- 1982: Pajero. Named after the Pampas cat of Patagonia. It won its class at the Paris-Dakar Rally at the first attempt in 1983, took its first overall win in 1985 and went on to win the rally 12 times, including seven in a row.
- 1992: Lancer Evolution. Launched in October 1992 for the World Rally Championship, with the 4G63 turbo engine squeezed into the light, compact Lancer.
- 2009: i-MiEV. An electric car built on the “i” kei car, the result of EV research that Mitsubishi began back in 1964.
- 2013: Outlander PHEV. A plug-in hybrid SUV with twin electric motors driving the front and rear wheels, described by Mitsubishi Motors as its flagship model.
Mitsubishi Motors has rarely travelled alone. It bought shares in Hyundai in 1982, helped found Malaysia’s Proton in 1983 and later partnered with Volvo and DaimlerChrysler. In October 2016 Nissan acquired 34% of the company, bringing it into the alliance with Renault that became the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance. For more on how badges like this one are built, see how car logos are designed.
Frequently asked questions
What does the Mitsubishi logo mean?
The three diamonds are the name itself: mitsu means three and hishi, pronounced bishi in the middle of a word, refers to a diamond shape. Mitsubishi says the mark is suggestive of the three-leaf crest of the Tosa Clan and the three stacked rhombuses of the Iwasaki family crest.
Who created the three-diamond emblem?
According to Mitsubishi, the founder Yataro Iwasaki chose it as the emblem for his company. It flew on the company’s ship flags from 1870 and was registered as a trademark in June 1914.
Did Mitsubishi cars always wear the three diamonds?
No. Mitsubishi Motors used an MM symbol on the front of its cars from 1976 and an MMC symbol from 1982. In May 1992 it replaced the MMC logo with the three diamonds.
When was Mitsubishi Motors founded?
Mitsubishi Motors Corporation was established on 22 April 1970, taking over the car business of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries. The wider Mitsubishi story began in 1870, and the Model A went into production in 1917.
From Tosa steamships to the Dakar: the file
- Founded
- 1970
- Founder
- Yataro Iwasaki (founder of the Mitsubishi group)
- Country
- Japan
- Headquarters
- Tokyo, Japan
- Parent company
- Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance
- Current emblem
- Three red diamonds, used on the cars again since 1992
- Known for
- The Pajero's Dakar wins, the Lancer Evolution and plug-in hybrid SUVs
- Website
- Official website ↗
