Subaru Logo Meaning

The iconic symbol of a Subaru dates back to 1953 when five Japanese companies merged to form Fuji Heavy Industries Ltd. The cluster of six stars was adopted as the logo for one arm of the newly formed company dedicated to the manufacturing of motor vehicles: Subaru.

Subaru PleiadesThe former logo on a 1958 Subaru 360 shows six stars in an arrangement similar to the Pleiades open star cluster.

Subaru is the Japanese name for the Pleiades star cluster M45, or "The Seven Sisters" (one of whom tradition says is invisible – hence only six stars in the Subaru logo), which in turn inspires the logo and alludes to the companies that merged to create FHI.

In Subaru's logo, the large star symbolizes Fuji Heavy Industries and the five smaller stars indicate the five companies that merged to form FHI. The emblem's background is nearly always blue, as the color of the actual Pleiades stars are blue.