and all this time I thought Mr. Sanyo founded Sanyo corp.

[Steve Bildermann]

Ever wondered what "Mitsubishi" means when written out in Japanese? Or maybe you've pondered over exactly how "Sanyo" came to be known as Sanyo*. What does the "shiba" in "Toshiba" mean? In this article, we dive deep into the corporate names of seven of the world's most well-known electronics companies

http://www.techjapan.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&sid=847&file=article


Official company name
Hitachi Corporation

Common company name
Hitachi

Name breakdown
- "Hi" - Means "Sun," or "Day." This Kanji can also mean "Japan," depending o­n its usage.
- "Tachi" - Means "stand up," or "establish."

Actual name origins
Hitachi is the name of a city in Ibaraki Prefecture. The company got its name from its location; Hitachi was established as a branch off of the Hitachi Mine.

Corporate History
http://www.hitachi.co.jp/about/corporate/history/index.html

[Mels]

Awesome read here. Thank you for posting this information.

I remember when I was going through the Looooonnngg boring orientation at Kanebo, they mentioned the history of the companies name. What I remember is: Kane is bell, but I dont remember what they said about bo. I believe it may mean 'the bell post' according to what I read in the link below.

They use the bell symbol on many of their products, but the company pin we wore was the symbol for the sewing machine spool (the small silver one). That was based on their beginings as a textile company. Great long history and I was proud to work for them, although today, they are not doing so well. Kanebo was a great company to work for right out of college. ( missing that time)

http://www.kanebo.co.jp/english/company/e_enk.htm

[Mulboyne]

[emperor]

[quote="Steve Bildermann"]
Hitachi is the name of a city in Ibaraki Prefecture. The company got its name from its location]

A rich-kid I used to study Japanese with used to tell people that his father (who was a professor of something and aparently of some notoriety) was friends with Mr. Hitachi and that when his father first visited Mr. Hitachi back in the 60s all he had to do was dial "7" as Mr. Hitachi was one of the first few to get a phone in Japan... sometimes in class i would glance over at him and ponder: "......What a GOBSHITE.........."

[Mulboyne]

[Captain Japan]

[gkanai]

Toyota's first product was a weaving loom.

[Mulboyne]

Sakichi Toyoda was running Toyoda Automatic Loom back then. He was paid 1 million yen by Pratt Brothers of England for the rights to his Type-G loom and he used that money to set up Toyota Motor. There is an original G loom in the Science Museum in London.

By the by, the Toyota group has been thrown into the biggest spin by Livedoor deal - they are buying shares of affiliates like there is no tomorrow

[Mels]

[gkanai]

By the by, the Toyota group has been thrown into the biggest spin by Livedoor deal - they are buying shares of affiliates like there is no tomorrow

ooo! do tell more...

[Mulboyne]

ooo! do tell more...

I'll have a better view when I show my face in Japan next week

[kotatsuneko]

how about the once great , now beige peeps that used to employ me ^^

namco = nakamura amusement company

[Mulboyne]

how about the once great , now beige peeps that used to employ me ^^
namco = nakamura amusement company

And SEGA was originally set up after the war by some FGs to run the pinball machines at the army facilities. The company merged with a jukebox operator and picked the name "Service Games". After a local management buy-out, it became SEGA

[Ketou]

Now that's an interesting one! Heeeeeeeeh!

[canman]

What amazes me is the number of companies that have the same names, even though there is no affiliation. Now I know that the names in Kanji are different, but non-the-less, it must get a little confusing. There are so many Asahi companies out there. Or Himawari, companies. Do compnaies not have any rights over their names.
I remember a few years ago, Disney sued Edmonton's West Edmonton Mall to force them to change the name of their indoor amusement park from Fantasyland, as Disney said they held the rights to that name.

[Mulboyne]

Japanese company names are often one of the few clues you get to work out who the owners are and what they do.
When I look at the Izumi Garden complex in Roppongi, from the name alone I can make a fair guess that the Sumitomo Group is behind it because Masatomo Sumitomo's brother-in-law, Riemon Soga, ran a copper-smelter called Izumiya ("fountain head shop") and the name Izumi was the inspiration for the Sumitomo well-frame logo.

[GargoyleTS]

Japanese company names are often one of the few clues you get to work out who the owners are and what they do.
When I look at the Izumi Garden complex in Roppongi, from the name alone I can make a fair guess that the Sumitomo Group is behind it because Masatomo Sumitomo's brother-in-law, Riemon Soga, ran a copper-smelter called Izumiya ("fountain head shop") and the name Izumi was the inspiration for the Sumitomo well-frame logo.

So much to learn....

But at least there really is some method to the madness!

[kotatsuneko]

spot on with sega, Mulboyne

am i right in thinking that Bikkuri Donkey used to be called Donaldu Duck?

[Mulboyne]

[Taro Toporific]

am i right in thinking that Bikkuri Donkey used to be called Donaldu Duck?

Don't know about Donaldo Duck....but we all know about DUCKY DUCK cafe chain.

I've got the best one, the KKK bus company.




PS: Where the hell is Steve Bildermann who originated this thread? I've been back for 2 weeks now and I've haven't a chance to muck up one of his threads with my nonsequitur-esque posts. :P

[Blah Pete]

I've got the best one, the KKK bus company.

So, where would the blacks sit on this bus?

[Mulboyne]

I've got the best one, the KKK bus company.

Did you know that company is owned by FGs now?

Japan Times, Dec 1st 2004: Cerberus to control Kokusai Kogyo

I don't know whether they ever sold their stake in the Imperial Hotel - although the newswires suggested a deal was imminent a year ago, other news reports claim that Cerebrus got it when they assumed control.

FG Thread: Imperial Hotel Ltd. offloaded into the Privy

[Mulboyne]

Chocolate maker Lotte is releasing a new product called Charlotte. This turns out to be the origin of the company's name. As the Wiki entry says:

The source of the company's name is neither Japanese nor Korean, but German. Shin was impressed with Johann Wolfgang von Goethe's "The Sorrows of Young Werther" (1774) and named his newly-founded company Lotte after the character Charlotte.

Shin Refers to founder Shin Kyuk-Ho (known in Japan as Shigemitsu Takeo)

[Tommybar]

When Seiko (also with an interesting history) was asked to serve as Official Timer of the Tokyo Olympic Games in 1964, they were asked to also provide some kind of printing devise to record the times on paper. So Seiko developed the EP-1. From this Seiko decided to create a company that specializes in this type of printing. Since the company was the child of the original EP-1 printer, they called the company 'Son of EP' or EPson.

[American Oyaji]

is that so?

[IkemenTommy]

What is the story behind Sony?
And wasn't there some obscure story behind how Suntory was named?

(I'm too lazy to google or wiki it)

[American Oyaji]

What is the story behind Sony?
And wasn't there some obscure story behind how Suntory was named?

(I'm too lazy to google or wiki it)

Here ya go
http://www.sony.net/Fun/SH/index.html

[Mulboyne]

And wasn't there some obscure story behind how Suntory was named?

The company was started by the Torii family which probably played some part. Suntory was originally just a brand name but became the corporate name when they began to think about going international.

[IkemenTommy]

Yeah thanks. That Sony history link is too damned long and I need the Cliffs notes version of that..

I heard it was something about Torii-san's company and they just put the wording backwards, but that just sounds too silly.

[Mulboyne]

I heard it was something about Torii-san's company and they just put the wording backwards, but that just sounds too silly.

Sounds plausible to me. The name is written サントリー in katakana.