Golden Era Japan: Five Guitars Worth Knowing About
- guitargaragebondi
- 4 days ago
- 2 min read
A few pieces on the floor right now come from Japan's golden era of guitar making — the 1970s and early 80s, when factories like Yairi, Teradaira and Fujigen were turning out instruments that rival anything built in the US at the time. Here's five worth knowing about.
Hand-built in the Yairi workshop in Kani, Gifu, under Kazuo Yairi himself. This DY-41 is a dreadnought from the upper tier of the Yairi lineup — solid Sitka spruce top, solid Indian rosewood back and sides, ebony fingerboard and bridge. The top's had almost 50 years to open up, fret wear is close to nothing, and it comes in its original hard case.
Built at the Daion/Teradaira factory and all-solid throughout: spruce top, rosewood back and sides, mahogany neck, bound rosewood board with abalone hexagon inlays. Yamaki built these to compete with high-end American acoustics of the era. Exceptionally clean condition, zero fret wear, hard case included.
A square-shoulder dreadnought with a solid spruce top and jacaranda back and sides, abalone hexagon inlays on the rosewood board. The most affordable of the five and still a genuinely high-tier model in Morris's catalogue — straight neck, healthy frets, no structural issues.
A Les Paul-style built at the Fujigen factory — mahogany body, carved maple top, set neck, bound rosewood board, a pair of vintage Greco humbuckers under gold hardware. Warm midrange, clean top end. Some honest handling marks on the back and headstock, comes with its original hard case.
A step outside the run above, but worth including: a Fujigen-made reissue from Fender Japan's own golden stretch in the early 90s, built to the same spec as the original 1962 Jaguar. 24" short scale, JG-Single Alnico pickups, floating tremolo with a lock button and — unusual for a 30-year-old guitar — no visible fret wear. Comes with a gig bag.
Come play any of these in person at the shop, or we'll ship one to your door.
We ship guitars Australia-wide, carefully packed, via TNT or FedEx depending on your area. [Full delivery times and packing info →]
Buying a guitar that's 40-50 years old is a different exercise to buying new — wear, originality, and setup all factor into what you're paying for. [Read our full vintage vs pre-owned FAQ →]
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