Kyoho is the romanized brand name of the Japanese table grape variety known as 巨峰 (Kyohō), developed in 1942 by agricultural researcher Ōinoue Yasushi. The name and its associated wordmark are managed by Kyoho Japan Co., Ltd. (株式会社日本巨峰会), a Tokyo-based company that oversees the Kyoho trademark and promotes the “nutritional cycle theory” of cultivation developed by Ōinoue.[1]
Design and History
The Kyoho grape was created in 1942 through a cross between the Australian variety Centennial and the Japanese variety Ishihara Wase, with the variety name “Ishihara Centennial” and the commercial name (trademark name) “Kyoho.”[1] The trademark for the fruit was filed with the Japan Patent Office in 1954 and granted in 1955 under registration number 472182.[1]
In 1967, the Japan Kyoho Association was incorporated as a limited company, later becoming a public company in 1980.[1] A separate trademark combining the Chinese characters 巨峰 with the romanized “KYOHO” was filed on March 31, 1969, and registered on January 1, 1970, under registration number 00039016.[2] This mark is described as a flat, monochrome (ink black) design containing both the Chinese characters and the English wordmark.[2]
Additional registrations of the combined 巨峰 KYOHO mark were filed in 1983 as associated trademarks, indicating continued use and protection of the combined wordmark through the 1980s.[3][4]
Meaning and Symbolism
The Chinese characters 巨峰 (Kyohō) translate literally to “giant peak” or “great summit,” a name chosen to reflect the grape’s notably large size, which made it the largest grape variety produced in Asia.[5] The wordmark functions primarily as a product identifier for the grape variety rather than as a corporate emblem, and the Kyoho name is actively enforced as a registered trademark by its owner.[6]
Kyoho Japan Co., Ltd. currently holds multiple registrations for the Kyoho name across various product classes, including dried grapes, fresh grapes and seeds, tea and beverages, and processed grape products.[6] The company also manages the trademark 栄週 (Eishū), associated with its nutritional cycle theory.[6]
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