Tokai has made guitars in their own factory, and has also built guitars for other companies. Tokai Gakki produces a wide range of musical instruments for both the international and Japanese domestic market including acoustic guitars, electric guitars, electric basses. Ltd., often referred as Tokai Guitars Company Ltd., is a Japanese guitar manufacturer founded in 1947 and situated in Hamamatsu city, Shizuoka perfecture.

The 'Breezysounds' from the 80s are well known and highly regarded but this all black model is not often seen. Heres quite a rare vintage guitar from Tokai Japan. The more expensive Tokai guitars are made in Japan.The Ultimate Word on Made in Japan vs Crafted in Japan Fender Guitars - IS MIJ BETTER Than CIJ?1981 Tokai Japan TTE-4 0 'Breezysound' Telecaster Custom Edition & new Hard Case. Tokai and Dyna Gakki produced the Fender Made In Japan solid-body guitars from 1997 through 2015.

The good news is that Tokai Japan product quality remains very good to excellent.Tokai ES-180 SR Semi Hollow Vintage Series Japan in Seethru Red Cherry. Same goes for modern Fernandes + Deviser low end models. Especially when searching for gear. His grandfather started the business back in I guess the market has shifted dramatically towards more entry level guitars, and yeah it does seem like there are a lot of base models offered for sale. The people at Tokai were really friendly, and the company president, Shohei Adachi, was one of the nicest guys I met in Japan. &0183 &32 I initially contacted Tokai when I was researching for a book about vintage Japanese guitars.

These excellent guitars still proudly displayed 'MADE IN JAPAN'.1992: (yes, there is some overlap here) The Dyna Gakki Corp. Shortly there after, this plant began to produce the bulk of non-US made Fender and Squire guitars, moving production AWAY from Japan.Up to 1996: Fender continued to employ the FujiGen Gakki Corp to make guitars, although in more and more limited numbers, and mostly only for guitars intended to be sold in the Japanese market. These early production USA guitars ('87-89) are widely respected as nearly custom-shop level guitars, and are VERY valuable.Mid 1987: Fender opens it's factory in Ensenada, Mexico. American guitars are once again being produced, and quality is job #1. This era brought about some fairly well respected models like the 'contemporary' Strat.Early 1987: Schultz and company open their US production plant in Corona California. The sale did NOT include the manufacturing facility, and as a result, except for a small number of already completed guitars, the ONLY Fender guitars produced in 85-86 were Made in Japan by the FujiGen Gakki Corp.

Now joined Dyna Gakki as the EXCLUSIVE manufacturers of Fenders made in Japan, and continued to be stamped Crafted In Japan. Either way, Dyna Gakki was also a high-quality manufacturer, and these guitars are of similar quality to the ones made across town at the FujiGen Gakki plant, even though today they seem to sell for a little less and have a little less respect in the guitar community.1997: The TЕЌkai Corp. Others say 'crafted' had a nicer ring to it than 'made', and so the word change was all about marketing and preception, this seems to make solid sense. Some say this was due to a contract clause with FujiGen that ONLY allowed their plant to stamp 'MADE IN JAPAN' on a Fender, which seems unlikely.

These instruments have sometimes been stamped 'MADE IN JAPAN', and sometimes 'CRAFTED IN JAPAN', seemingly for marketing reasons alone.So is MIJ better than CIJ? I'll let y'all make that call on your own. These instruments have sometimes been stamped 'MADE IN JAPAN', and sometimes 'CRAFTED IN JAPAN', seemingly for marketing reasons alone.Late 2015 - present (late 2019): Fender bought out Kanda Shokai and Yamano Gakki, and now runs the Japanese plant themselves, still producing mostly guitars for the Japanese market, alongwith a few Fender Special Run (FSR) instruments for the Western/US market. A fun fact here is that, when Fender announced that they were again manufacturing guitars in the US at their new Corona, CA plant, the guitars they pictured were ACTUALLY made by Tokai!2007 - 2015: Fender partnered with Kanda Shokai and Yamano Gakki to build their own plant in Japan, producing mostly guitars for the Japanese market, along with a few Fender Special Run (FSR) instruments for the Western/US market.

Tokai Guitars Japan