Jubilo Iwata got its start as the club team of Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd., established in 1972. This makes Jubilo about two decades younger than most of the other predominant J.League clubs. Nevertheless the team rose quickly to prominence at the end of the J.League's first decade. In 1978, Yamaha entered the JSL second division, and opened its current home stadium at Higashiyama, Shizuoka (which continues to be known as "Yamaha Stadium"). The very next year the team was promoted to the first division. Between 1982 and 1989 the club won several league or league cup titles. A poor season in 1991 meant that Yamaha failed to be included in the ten teams preparing to form the new J.League, yet Jubilo took all the necessary steps to prepare for professional status, establishing itself as a separate organisation -- Yamaha Football Club Ltd. -- and changing its name to Jubilo Iwata. Two years later they won the JFL title and earned promotion to the professional ranks.
The team selected the name Jubilo, which means "delight" in Spanish. Both the Jubilo team logo and the mascot are based on the black paradise flycatcher, a bird that in Japan is viewed as a symbol of light, and good luck. Despite the spanish name, Jubilo went out of its way to adopt several symbols that are connected with England. The flag, of course, has a resemblance to the English flag, but with a slightly lighter blue tone, and the sun, moon and star symbols on the logo are supposedly modeled on British masonic emblems.
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