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List of Japanese OEM guitar manufacturers

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The following list includes companies based in Japan which produce (or have produced in the past) guitars and other related string instruments which are sold by other brands under original equipment manufacturer (OEM) arrangements.

List of Japanese OEM guitar manufacturers

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Manufacturer Est. Location Description/ Associated Brands
Atlansia 1982 Nagano Atlansia was formed in 1982 by Nobuaki Hayashi, who also uses the pseudonym H. Nobel and who previously worked for Matsumoku. While they primarily sell guitars under their own label, they have also made parts (e.g. necks) for other brands such as Fender Japan.[1]
Chushin Gakki 1948 Nagano Chushin Gakki was established by K. Miyazawa in 1948.[2] They have made electric guitars since 1961. They produced guitars sold by Charvel, Jackson, Fresher and Robin from the early 1980s,[2] as well as Ibanez's Axstar line in the late 1980s.[3] They also sold original designs under names such as Bambu, Cobran, and Hisonus. The El Maya (EM series) was a collaboration with Maya Musical Instrument Co and American manufacturer engineer (Alembic?), starting in 1977 through the early 1980s.[citation needed]
Dyna Gakki 1973 Nagano Dyna Gakki was founded in 1973 and have built guitars for several well-known brands. They produced Ibanez's Blazer line in the 1980s and have also made guitars for Fender, Greco (for Kanda Shokai), Gretsch, and Fernandes. Dyna also made the Yamaki/Daion[4]/Founder/Joodee solid body guitars for Daion in the 1970s and early 1980s.[5]
Fuji Gengakki 1960 Matsumoto Fuji Gengakki was established in May 1960 by Yutaka Mimura and Yuichiro Yokouchi. The company initially produced violins and classical guitars with electric guitar production following a couple of years later. By the 1970s Fuji Gengakki was producing instruments for a number of brands including Hoshino Gakki (Ibanez), CSL (Antoria), Kanda Shokai (Greco guitars) and Yamaha.[6] Since then they've also produced guitars for Fender and Gibson as well as selling guitars under their own FGN brand.
Guyatone 1933 Tokyo[7] Guyatone was founded by Mitsuo Matsuki in 1933. The company produced its first solid body electric guitars, copies of Les Paul model, in 1955. Within a few years they were exporting these guitars under their own brand as well as others such as Star and Antoria. These guitars proved popular, particularly in the U.K.[8]

Guyatone also produced guitars sold by other brands including Ibanez and Kent.

Iida Gakki 1958 Nagoya Iida Gakki have made solid body, semi-acoustic and acoustic guitars for well-known brands such as Yamaha and Caparison. Iida built Ibanez's Artfield guitars in the late 1980s as well as some models in that company's Artist series. They also built banjoes and mandolins for the Sigma by Martin brand.[9] From the late 1980s, they have shifted most (if not all) of their production to South Korea in their Peerless facility.
Kasuga 1935 Nagoya Kasuga was founded in 1935 by Kazuyuki Kasuga.[10] They produced a variety of stringed instruments: guitars, banjoes, mandolins, ukuleles and even violins. Many of these were sold under the Kasuga brand.

Kasuga was one of the first Japanese companies to begin producing and selling copies of guitars from the big US brands, primarily those from Gibson but also Fender, starting in 1972.[11] They sold these replica guitars under their own RK Herby and Heerby brands as well as producing them for other companies — Guild sold Kasuga-made guitars under their Madeira nameplate.[11] Kasuga was later involved in a joint venture with Roland to produce guitar synths.[12] By the 1980s Kasuga stopped selling guitar under their own brands and instead focused on OEM production for other companies. They made acoustic guitars for Yamaha as well as guitars sold by Burny, Washburn and under ESP Guitars' Navigator brand.[12]
Business conditions became difficult in the late 1980s due to the strength of the Japanese yen in global currency markets, which forced most production overseas to Taiwan and elsewhere. Kasugi continued producing mainly violins and bouzoukis for a while, but they ceased operations in 1996.[10]

Matsuoka Guitar 1959 Nagoya Matsuoka was founded in 1959 by self taught luthier Ryoji Matsuoka. They produced guitars for Ibanez and Aria in the 1960s and 1970s in addition to selling guitars under their own brand.[13]
Matsumoku 1951 Matsumoto Matsumoku Industrial was founded in 1951 as a woodworking shop. After World War II the American Singer Corporation contracted with Matsumoku to build sewing machine cabinets. The company soon ventured into musical instrument production, producing primarily classical guitars and violins. By the 1960s they were producing guitars and parts for other brands including Vox, Greco, Ibanez, Yamaha, Aria, Norlin/Gibson, Univox, Westbury and Washburn as well as selling under their own Westone brand.[14] The company ceased operations in 1987 due to monetary conditions that made Japanese production less attractive as well as the loss of the Singer work due to a corporate takeover.
Sugi Guitars 2002 Matsumoto Sugi Musical Instruments Ltd. (Japanese: スギ・ミュージカル・インストゥルメンツ 有限会社) also known as Sugi Guitars was founded in 2002 by Makoto "Nick" Sugimoto. Prior to founding Sugi, Sugimoto had worked for many years as head of R&D at FujiGen Gakki.[15]

In addition to selling guitars and basses under their own brand, Sugi also builds guitars sold by Ibanez as part of their high-end "J. Custom" range as well as some of their artist signature models.

Terada 1912 Nagoya Terada began producing stringed instruments in Nagoya in 1912. Over the years they've produced guitars sold by Epiphone, Burny, C. F. Martin, Gallagher, Gretsch, Ibanez, Morris, Orville by Gibson, Steinberger, and others. They specialize primarily in building semi-acoustic and acoustic guitars. They also sold guitars under the T. Haruo brand in the United States and the Terada brand elsewhere.[16]

At their production peak, which ran from the late 1970s through the early 1990s, Terada produced up to 10,000 guitars a month in three factories: Higashiku , Kanie and Shirakawa. Their current output is about 1/8 of what it was at their peak and only the Kanie factory remains, producing exclusively semi-acoustic guitars.

Tōkai Gakki 1947 Hamamatsu Tokai is a family owned business which began as a maker or harmonicas and pianos. They started producing guitars in the mid 1960s and have since built instruments for many well-known brands including C. F. Martin, Fender and Fernandes.[17] They also sell guitars under their own brands.[18]
Yamaki 1967 Suwa, Nagano Founded by Kazuyuki Teradaira as a maker of classical guitars. Yamaki guitars were sold by Daion, which was a firm run by Mr. Teradaira's brother.[19] In addition to selling guitars bearing the Yamaki and Daion brands, they also produced some instruments that were sold by Washburn Guitars.[20]

Sources

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  1. ^ "About H. Noble and Atlansia". Atlansia. Archived from the original on February 3, 2015. Retrieved November 17, 2022.
  2. ^ a b Benedittini, Frankie (August 19, 2022). "Burny Guitar manufacturers from 1975 to early 2000". Vintage Japan Guitars. Archived from the original on November 9, 2022. Retrieved November 15, 2022.
  3. ^ Wright, Michael (May 1, 2008). "Off with her head! (1986 Ibanez Axstar AX75 electric guitar)". My Rare Guitars (blog). Archived from the original on February 15, 2017. Retrieved November 15, 2022.
  4. ^ The Daion "Joodee" brand should not be confused with the "T and Joodee" brand by Japanese luthier Shiroh Tsuji.
  5. ^ Benedittini, Frankie (April 15, 2019). "Dyna Gakki". Vintage Japan Guitars. Archived from the original on November 15, 2022. Retrieved November 15, 2022.
  6. ^ "About Us: History of FujiGen". FujiGen. Archived from the original on November 9, 2017.
  7. ^ 東京サウンド(株) [Tokyo Sound Co., Ltd.] (in Japanese). Suginami Sangyo Kyokai (杉並産業協会). Archived from the original on August 22, 2016. (PDF version)
  8. ^ Bacon, Tony; Carter, Walter; Elder, Ben (2018). "Guyatone". Electric Guitars - The Illustrated Encyclopedia. Book Sales. p. 186. ISBN 978-0-7858-3572-1. : "One of the oldest Japanese guitar brands, Guyatone dates from the 1930s when Mitsuo Matsuki set up in Tokyo. The Guyatone brand was based on Matsuki's nickname “Guya," someone who takes care of tools. Guyatone's first solid-body electric debuted in 1955, the "Les Paul Model," styled more like early Nationals and Supros. Exporting began in the late 1950s. Budget Guyatones (some branded Star or Antoria) proved popular in the UK, where little else was available. Hank Marvin was an early customer. / Around 1968 the electric guitar market crashed in Japan. Many companies failed, including Guyatone. It re-emerged as the Guya Co Ltd. ... / Matsuki died in 1992. ..."
  9. ^ Dunham, Kevin (November 2015). "Sigma By Martin: Following the Line". Vintage Guitar. Archived from the original on November 15, 2022. Retrieved November 16, 2022.
  10. ^ a b "Kasuga". Guitar-List. Archived from the original on December 7, 2021. Retrieved November 17, 2022.
  11. ^ a b Wright, Michael (March–July 2002). "Stratospheric Variations: A history of offset double-cut guitars". Vintage Guitar. Archived from the original on October 2, 2011. Retrieved November 17, 2022.
  12. ^ a b "Kasuga Guitars". Jedistar. Archived from the original on April 7, 2022. Retrieved November 17, 2022.
  13. ^ "History". Matsuoka Guitar. Archived from the original on June 22, 2013.
  14. ^ O'Hara, Marcus (February 6, 2010). "Made In Japan – The Matsumoku Industrial Connection". The Unique Guitar Blog. Archived from the original on August 5, 2016. Retrieved November 17, 2022.
  15. ^ "About Us". Sugi Guitars. Archived from the original on September 29, 2020.
  16. ^ "The Untold History of T. Haruo guitars". Kritmon. Archived from the original on September 22, 2021. Retrieved November 15, 2022.
  17. ^ Benedittini, Frankie (April 7, 2019). "History of Tokai". Vintage Japan Guitars. Archived from the original on November 9, 2022. Retrieved November 15, 2022.
  18. ^ "Tokai Guitars". USA Music Import. Archived from the original on November 15, 2022. Retrieved November 15, 2022.
  19. ^ "Yamaki". Guitar-List. Archived from the original on August 7, 2020. Retrieved November 17, 2022.
  20. ^ Cooper, Gary (April 15, 2019). "Lesser-Known Greats From The Golden Age of Japanese Acoustics". Reverb. Archived from the original on April 17, 2019. Retrieved November 17, 2022.
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