Subaru Tomori: Visiting the Dawn of Japanese Logo Marks

2025/04/11

A chef who has accidentally cut off his index finger with a kitchen knife stares resentfully at the wound. On the cutting board in front of him lies the severed tip of his finger—this eccentric design is the commemorative logo mark that became the first trademark registered in our country in 1885 (Figure 1).

This is the mark for "Yomeiko," an ointment for wounds sold since the Edo period. The design conveys the message, "Even with a major injury like this, you'll be fine if you apply this medicine" (setting aside whether an ointment could truly fix a severed finger).

While such single-panel comic-style illustrations stood out among the many family-crest-style logo marks of the time, they were a common approach for medicines and cosmetics. This was related to the literacy rates of the general public back then. In an era when not everyone could read well, businesses needed to use illustrations to show consumers what their products were for and in what situations they should be used.

As a result, medicine logo marks of that era often featured designs that might seem gloomy today, depicting injuries or illnesses such as "cut fingers" or "back pain." This is the exact opposite of today's supplements and health foods, which often use design elements to evoke "vitality" or "recovery."

A representative logo mark of that era using a similar approach is the anatomical diagram mark for "Isan" (Figure 2). The illustration of a "man with exposed stomach and intestines" was, of course, intended to visually explain in a straightforward way that this was a "gastrointestinal medicine." The design, likely based on medical books brought from the West, is strangely realistic and grotesque. The trademark owner, Nobuyoshi Ota, was the founder of today's Ohta's Isan.

As expected, this was perceived as bizarre even by the common people of the time. The company's history reflects, "It is true that it gave the general public an 'eerie' impression, but on the other hand, it helped establish an unforgettable image as 'Ohta's Isan of the anatomical diagram'" (Reflections on a Hundred Years of Ohta's Isan, p. 66).

However, because this "Isan" became popular, the "anatomical diagram mark" sparked a boom and spawned many followers. Logo marks with exposed internal organs were released one after another by latecomers, and the influence remained until the Showa era. Looking back with modern sensibilities, it seems like a somewhat bizarre movement.

"Illustrated Encyclopedia of Edo and Meiji Logos: Looking Back at Corporate Marks Through Registered Trademarks" (Sakuhinsha) is an encyclopedia that carefully selects and features logo marks from over 50,000 registered during the Meiji period since the enforcement of the Trademark Ordinance (now the Trademark Act) in 1884. It includes marks that capture the design sensibilities of the Edo to Meiji periods, those with historical anecdotes, and those symbolizing the industries of the time.

While writing, I researched a vast number of trademark gazettes recording the logo marks of businesses of various industries and sizes from that era, which led to many interesting insights. Let me introduce a few of them.

For many businesses in the Meiji period, the purpose of trademark registration was clearly to "eliminate counterfeits." This was an era when mechanisms for protecting intellectual property were insufficient compared to today, and awareness of respecting it was also thin. Countermeasure against counterfeits was an urgent common issue for successful businesses, and many industries were eagerly awaiting the start of the trademark registration system.

Even so, one of the insights—and an interesting aspect of the trademark system—is that it was impossible to completely prevent the appearance of "similar trademarks," such as the anatomical diagram marks that imitated Ohta's Isan. The Trademark Ordinance of the time provided penalties not only for the forgery of registered trademarks but also for the use of "trademarks confusingly similar to registered trademarks." However, if a trademark was "similar but not to a confusing degree," it did not constitute trademark infringement.

The purpose of the trademark system is to guarantee that the source (the manager, such as the seller) of products bearing the same trademark is always the same, thereby ensuring a certain level of quality and protecting the goodwill residing in that trademark. Therefore, it stands to reason that a similar mark that can be distinguished as a different thing from the start falls outside the scope of trademark rights.

This remains the same in the legal principles of the current Trademark Act, and "how similar it must be to be confusing and 'out' (trademark infringement)" is still often a subject of dispute and debate today. However, unlike today when many businesses act as models, in the early days of the trademark system, it was not uncommon for enterprising latecomers to challenge pioneers with "similar trademarks."

For example, against the sake brand "Ozeki," which was born in 1884 and registered as a trademark the following year, a counterfeit trademark called "Yokozuna" with almost the same design appeared in 1904 (Figures 3 and 4). By using "Yokozuna" to rival "Ozeki," the similar product appeared to be of a higher grade. One cannot help but be amazed and appalled by such criminal ingenuity.

At the same time, the thought crosses one's mind that if this was going to happen, "Ozeki" should have just called itself "Yokozuna" from the start without being modest... But upon investigation, "Yokozuna" only began to be used as the highest rank for sumo wrestlers in 1890. When "Ozeki" was born, Ozeki was indeed the highest rank. For the Osabe family (now Ozeki Co., Ltd.), who brewed "Ozeki," both the new rank of "Yokozuna" and the appearance of similar products must have been unexpected events.

In addition to this, there were similar trademarks registered such as "Mitsuho Cider" (where rice stalks, not arrows, form that shape) to rival "Mitsuya Cider," and variations of the crescent moon mark for Kao Soap with different facial expressions on the moon.

Original brands did not just sit idly by in these situations. In the late Meiji period, a method often used by legitimate businesses was to preemptively register "fake trademarks" themselves before latecomers could. The plan was to catch opportunistic similar products in their own web of trademark rights.

For example, Teikoku Kosen, the manufacturer and seller of "Mitsuya Cider" at the time, registered "Futa-ya" (two arrows), "Yotsu-ya" (four arrows), and "Itsutsu-ya" (five arrows) marks themselves, increasing or decreasing the number of arrows from the "Mitsuya" (three arrows) mark.

However, there is no end to such an approach, and it is nearly impossible to cover all similar variations. In fact, in 1910, the company allowed the appearance of the "Yatsu-ya" (eight arrows) mark by a latecomer. In this way, the records of trademark registrations show the traces of a relentless and thrilling "battle of wits" played out between businesses over similar logo marks.

By the way, when researching the history of Meiji-era logo marks, one can find the names of famous entrepreneurs who contributed to Japan's modernization among the trademark registrants and creators. And standing frequently behind them was Yukichi Fukuzawa.

The illustration of the sacred beast "Kirin," which is still active today as the logo mark for Kirin Beer, has been used since 1889. The person who came up with the idea of adopting "Kirin" as a trademark was Heigoro Shoda of the Mitsubishi zaibatsu. He is known as a student of Fukuzawa and also served as the President of Keio University.

The "M in a circle" logo mark of the major bookstore Maruzen has also remained unchanged since around 1870. The founder, Yuteki Hayashi, also studied under Fukuzawa, and the import and sale of Western books, which he started at Fukuzawa's suggestion, was the beginning of Maruzen.

The "Kincho" mark for mosquito coils and insecticides has also been passed down since around 1910. The founder, Eiichiro Ueyama, also studied under Fukuzawa, and the start of his business was receiving pyrethrum seeds, the raw material for mosquito coils, from a US seed merchant through Fukuzawa's mediation.

In addition, Meiki Morita, the great-great-grandfather of Sony Group founder Akio Morita and a sake brewer in Owari Province, also had a close relationship with Fukuzawa. In his book "Jiji Shogen," Fukuzawa highly praised Meiki's quality improvements and innovations in the manufacturing process. The brand of the Morita family's sake, "Nenohi," which solidified its reputation through these innovations, has also been passed down to this day.

Could it be that the logo marks of entrepreneurs who received the guidance of Yukichi Fukuzawa tend to be long-lived? Research into the logos of the Edo and Meiji periods seems to have no end.