Page 55 - Kirin Holdings Teaching Note
P. 55
APPENDICES
Appendix 1
Mythological Beast
In Japanese, "kirin" can refer to giraffes, or to Qilin, the
mythical hooved Chinese chimerical creatures. Kirin Brewery
is named after the latter.
The symbol of KIRIN Brewery —The KIRIN— derives from
ancient Chinese mythology and is revered as a harbinger of
luck. The story says that when Confucius was born in 6 B.C.,
the KIRIN appeared before his mother.
KIRIN Brewery chose the KIRIN to make the product more
familiar to Japanese consumers, and to follow the common
practice of European brewers who often used animals on
product labels.
