Translations of Japanese Corporation Names Quiz

Answer: Honda

Soichiro Honda founded the company in 1948. For a long time in history, Japan was an isolated nation. The name Honda is related to "rice paddy field".

The translation to Chinese is "ben tian", "ben" is original and "tian" is rice field.

Answer: Toyota

Kiichiro Toyoda was the original founder of Toyota in 1937. The name was changed to Toyota which was easier for people outside Japan to pronounce and relate to. "Toyoda" means "abundant rice field" in Japanese.

Translated to Chinese, "Toyoda" is "feng tian", "feng" is abundant and "tian" is rice field.

Answer: Matsushita

Konosuke Matsushita started Matsushita Electric in 1917, later known as Panasonic, to become the largest consumer electronics manufacturer in Japan. "Matsushita" can be broken into two Japanese words, "matsu" meaning pine or fir tree and "shita" meaning under or below.

Answer: Subaru

Subaru was founded in 1953 by Kenji Kita and Chikuhei Nakajima. In Japanese, "subaru" means unite. It is the name for Pleaidas star cluster M45 or "Seven Sisters". Subaru's logo is known as "mutsuraboshi" meaning "six stars". The seventh star is invisible.

Answer: Suzuki

In Japanese, "suzuki" means "bell tree" or "bud tree". Michiro Suzuki founded the company in 1909 in a sea-coast village in Hamamatsu. The company started to manufacture weaving looms for the booming silk industry.

In Chinese, "Suzuki" is translated as "ling mu", "ling" is bell and "mu" is tree.

Answer: Mitsubishi

The three rhombus logo of Mitsubishi is related to the three diamonds. "Mitsu" is three and "bishi" is a water caltrop or water chestnut. The company was founded by Yataro Iwashi in 1870.

Answer: Nissan

"Nissan" simply means made in Japan. Masujiro Hashimoto founded the Kaishinsha Motor Car Works in 1914 and became the first car maker in Japan in 1916. In the 1930s, it started to manufacture cars under the brand name of Dastun. In 1933, Nissan Group took control of the company.

Answer: Isuzu

The name "Isuzu" means fifty bells pealing in harmony and celebrations. In 1916, Isuzu was created when Tokyo Ishikawajima Shipbuilding and Engineering started its expansion to manufacture automobiles.

Translated to Chinese, it is "wushi ling", "wushi" is fifty and "ling" is bell.

Answer: Yamaha

Yamaha is a manufacturer of motorcycles and musical instrument, was founded by Torakusu Yamaha in 1955. In Japanese, "yama" is mountain and "ha" is blade of leaf or grass. To the samurai, it is a symbol which is related to swords, blades and natural features such as mountains, rivers and forests.

Answer: Kawasaki

"Kawasaki" in Japanese means river cape, "kawa" is river and "saki" is cape. The company was founded by Shozo Kawasaki in 1896. Besides manufacturing motorcycles, Kawasaki Heavy Industries is a manufacturer of heavy equipment, aerospace equipment, and defence equipment.