While most people associate the Triforce with legendary Nintendo creator Shigeru Miyamoto, it’s been known to be prominently etched onto the tombstone of the mentor which oversaw Miyamoto’s early years at the company – the grave of Gunpei Yokoi (pictured above).
A Japanese Twitter user (via Togech) took a snapshot of Yokoi’s tombstone recently, and while this was not in and of itself newsworthy, was posted alongside the message of another Twitter user (also via Togech).
The message was a new theory by Twitter user Joinus1982, who hypothesized that while the Triforce is clearly inspired by the Hojo family crest (the mitsuuroko), perhaps Gunpei Yokoi’s family is a branch of the Hojo clan? While there is still no official word of whether or not the Hojo and Yokoi families are related, this is certainly the most probable explanation.
In case you were wondering, the tombstone reads:
Yokoi Gunpei
- 1968 – Ultra Machine
- 1973 – Lasar Clay
- 1980 – Ten Billion Barrel
- 1980 – Game & Watch
- 1989 – Game Boy
Finally, it’s worth reiterating that while Yokoi’s family crest is very reminiscent of the mitsuuroko and by proxy the triforce, these things change with time. In the Sengoku period, it was known as the crest of the Hojo clan, while now most people just see the Triforce, which is mostly thanks to Yokoi and Miyamoto’s work at Nintendo.
