The Real History of the Triforce

Kotaku recently posted an article, which perhaps would be better titled, ‘Triforce irl’ because the purpose of this article is to tell a little bit of the history of the symbol we now know as the triforce. In fact, the symbol doesn’t have much of a history in the western world aside from making a few appearances in company logos and comes, most historically, from a clan in Japan that was active in the 12th and 13th centuries:

In Japan, […] the Triforce has a little more meaning. As anyone who has played a game of Shogun Total War (or its recent sequel) will know, there’s a clan in the game called the Hojo. And the Hojo’s family crest (or kamon, 家紋, in Japanese) is essentially a Triforce.

The Hojo name for it, though, was Mitsuuroko 三つ鱗), or “three scales”.

The article goes onto say that the symbol, while uncommon in the western world, is more often seen in Japan. The creators of Zelda use this icon, which always symbolizes similar traits, in their own way, just as corporations and organizations adopt it for their own means. The article also includes several pictures of various logos and public works that include the symbol.

This article is a short read and I recommend it for anyone who wants a bit of insight into the symbolism of the triforce. Do you think Nintendo ripped of the design of the triforce? Or do you think they’re honoring the historic symbol? Let us know in the comments.

Source: Kotaku

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