By Michael Wright, The Different Strummer
Return with us now to ancient Japan, when mighty Shogun
warriors roamed the countryside like Medieval knights righting
wrongs by wielding sacred iron battle axes. Oh, wait; this is
about guitars, isn't it? Still, when you gaze on this 1968
Kawai Concert, you're looking at a remarkable example of
early, idiosyncratic Japanese guitar design that, in a way,
has more to do with being Japanese than with the demands of
export marketing. Maybe this was because by 1968 the market
was pretty soft, so it didn't matter if they turned the
designers loose. Or maybe it was an expression of pride. Or
something in the water. Whatever the reason, in 1968 there was
this whole batch of bizarre Japanese guitars that were unique
and strange, many of them employing what seemed to be Asian
aesthetics, most, though not all, from Kawai and its
subsidiary Teisco.
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