“Mitsubishi” means “three brilliants” in Japanese. These three brilliants symbolize three fundamental principles of a famous Japanese company, which produces cars. They are: responsibility to society, honesty and willingness for international cooperation. The name “Mitsubishi” has a symbolic meaning as well, it originates from two words: “mitsu” (which means “three”) and “hishi” (which can be translated as “a chestnut” or “a water chestnut”, whose leaves and fruits have a rhombic shape). The company’s logo represents union between 2 clans, whose logos are united:
Iwasaki and Tosa, which provided an opportunity for the founder of Mitsubishi to make his dream of owning a business come true. Yatarō Iwasaki founded his own company in 1870 with a strong support of Tosa clan, who had been his first employer since Yataro was a teenager. He was a student and a strong follower of a famous reformist Yoshida Toyo, who helped him to become an entrepreneur and found his own business. First, it used to be shipping company, and only in 1917 Mitsubishi introduced “Model A”, which was a first Japanese car, manufactured by Mitsubishi.
First truck – ‘T1” by Mitsubishi, was produced in 1918. By 1970, as the company’s popularity has increased dramatically and it has gained a reputation of high quality cars manufacturer, there appeared a necessity to create a corporation, which would include every business related to cars. Mitsubishi Motors Corporation was formed 100 years after Yataro Iwasaki founded his shipping line. This company is a division of a group of autonomous Japanese multinational companies in a variety of industries, including oil and gas, light industry, shipbuilding, heavy industries, real estate, insurance and even beer production
