
Yamaha is one of the oldest automotive companies in the world. Many people identify the brand by its phoenix logo. Here’s everything you need to know about the iconic logo.
We bet many don’t know that the Yamaha logo symbol is a phoenix holding a fork! If this fact has sparked your curiosity about the Yamaha logo, wait until we find out more about its history and meaning.
Yamaha Corporation is a Japanese brand that is dedicated to producing quality bicycles and many other products! The three tuning forks are an indispensable attribute of the Yamaha logo. Let’s dig deeper into the history and meaning of the Yamaha logo!
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History and meaning of the Yamaha logo
After the founding of Yamaha Corporation’s precursor, Nippon Gakki Co. Ltd., the brand decided to adopt the tuning fork as its corporate identity. The Chinese phoenix holding the tuning fork in its mouth is a trademark logo for Yamaha. After several rounds of changes as the company grew, Yamaha standardized the emblem.
If you don’t know, the tuning fork is a tool that helps in tuning musical instruments. But you might be wondering why Yamaha uses three tuning forks! Well, the three tuning forks in Yamaha’s logo symbolize the three pillars of its business: sales, production and technology.
The logo also reflects the company’s reputation in music and sound around the world. Finally, the brand wanted to convey three essential musical elements through this logo: rhythm, harmony and melody.
You should also know that Yamaha Motor Co., sister company of the brand, uses red. On the other hand, Yamaha Corporation uses purple as its corporate color.

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Yamaha motorcycle emblems
Besides the difference in font color, the emblems of Yamaha Motors and Yamaha Corporation also differ slightly. In the Yamaha Corporation symbol, the tips of the tuning forks are within the circle.
On the other hand, the Yamaha Motor emblem features tuning forks, with their tips extending beyond the circle. Also, if you look closely at the two symbols, you will notice that the “M” in the two logos is different.

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Changes in the Yamaha logo over the years
- 1898 – The 1898 design was the iconic design which included the Chinese phoenix. The brand reflected Yamaha’s goal of producing only world-class products.
- 1916 – The brand develops a brand application using tuning forks only.
- 1916 – He filed a trademark application for the rare use of tuning forks.
- 1927 – Yamaha develops a brand name for a renowned tuning fork and the Yamaha Veneer brand.
- 1934 – He designs an emblem for the media, catalogs, newspapers and advertisements.
- 1956 – Yamaha applied for a trademark exclusively for musical instruments.
- 1959 – Yamaha files another trademark application exclusively for musical instruments.
- 1967 – This year brought standardization of the range of brands. This type of white text was the “reverse drawing”.
- 1980 – The 1967 “inverted design” becomes the brand’s standard version.
- 1998 – Yamaha established a single, standard version of the tuning fork marks.
- 2016 – This year the company unified the tuning fork brands.

Photo credit: unsplash.com
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