Official company name
Sanyo Electric Corporation

Common company name
Sanyo

Company logo


Name when written in Japanese (normal)


Name when written in Japanese (traditional)


Name breakdown
 - "San" - Again means three. This is another reading for the same Kanji used in "Mitsu"bishi.
 - "You" - Means "ocean." Can also mean "Western" (as in, not Asian) depending o­n its usage.

Actual name origins
Toshio Iue, the founder of Sanyo, apparently had a thing for the sea. As a side note, it's interesting that Toshio Iue was actually the brother-in-law of Konosuke Matsushita, founder of Matsushita (Panasonic, if you've been reading this article).

Corporate History
http://www.global-sanyo.com/corporate/story/01_1.html

Often credited with creating o­ne of the iPod's o­nly decent competitors, our next company also has o­ne of the most complicated name histories. Toshiba, our last company to be uncovered, created the "gigabeat" line of portable MP3 players. But hey, it certainly doesn't stop there -- Toshiba is also a primary supplier of handsets for Japanese mobile phone giant au.