Mitsubishi Logo History

The year 2001 marked the 80th year since the founding of Mitsubishi Electric. It is also the year that we adopted "Changes for the Better" as our corporate statement. This statement expresses our commitment to ongoing improvement with the aim of continuously creating better products.The story below outlines how the Mitsubishi logo first came about, and how it and the corporate slogan have evolved into what is used today.

Origin of the Mitsubishi Logo
In the 1870s, the shipping company Tsukumo Shokai, which was the precursor of Mitsubishi, used a triangular water chestnut icon on its ships' flags, and it is from this icon that the current three-diamond Mitsubishi icon originated. It is derived from the three-layer chestnut family crest of Yataro Iwasaki, founder of Tsukumo Shokai, and the three-leaved oak family crest of the Yamanouchi family, from the Tosa Clan. Records suggest that the Mitsubishi company name was settled on later.


1921
Mitsubishi Electric is established when Mitsubishi Shipbuilding Co. (now Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd) spins off a factory in Kobe to manufacture electric motors.

1955
The official company name and typeface are decided. The font is called Mitarashi-ryu and is used until 1963.

1964
The corporate slogan which translates as "with you today and tomorrow" is adopted (in Japan only) with the aim of building a familiar corporate image among consumers
1968
A new corporate slogan, "ADVANCED AND EVER ADVANCING" is announced. In the words of President Okubo, Mitsubishi Electric CEO at the time, "we devised the slogan to cement our position in future industry through our technical expertise, and to establish a corporate posture of cultivating and nurturing management skills, so that a new corporate image would permeate the company both internally and externally."
1985
A Corporate Identity campaign is executed with the aim of boosting corporate image. The "Blue MITSUBISHI" corporate brand logo is devised for use in Japan to provide some sense of individualism within the Mitsubishi Group. Overseas, a logo is created that teams the familiar red three-diamonds symbol with a simple "MITSUBISHI." A new corporate slogan that translates roughly as "SOCIO-TECH: enhancing lifestyles through technology" is adopted in Japan. The overseas slogan is left unchanged.

2001
On the occasion of Mitsubishi Electric's 80th anniversary, the corporate philosophy is re-evaluated and the slogan revised to "Changes for the Better" as a consistent message both in Japan and overseas. The "Blue MITSUBISHI" logo continues to be used in Japan, while "MITSUBISHI ELECTRIC" is used overseas to provide distinctiveness within the Mitsubishi Group.
Three Diamonds

To develop a logo for the company, Iwasaki took his own family crest, which showed three stacked diamonds, and the crest of the Tosa Clan, which showed three oak leaves joined at the stem. The result was the forerunner of today's logo: three diamonds that come together at a central point. In 1875, Iwasaki decided to rename the company after the logo: Three Diamonds, or in Japanese, Mitsubishi. From then on, all the companies that would later grow from that original shipping company would bear the Mitsubishi name. The logo in its final form was registered in 1914.

Reference:http://global.mitsubishielectric.com/company/corp/history/logo/index.html
http://www.mitsubishi-motors-europe.com/corporate/history/