Posted by Anthony Davis on December 23, 2005 at 03:40:35:
In Reply to: KASUGA GUITARS posted by Rab Hanley on December 12, 2005 at 14:34:59:
I looked Kasuga up and I believe they still are making guitars but only in Japan. I saw ads when I was their in 1982. Here is an article that I got from the web.
http://www.vintageguitar.com/brands/details.asp?ID=94
In May of ’72, a portentous advertisement appeared in The Music Trades. In an ad stretching across the top of a two-page spread, drawn cartoon-fashion with a jet soaring from Japan to the United States, the headline read, “Kasuga Guitars Come To America.” Kasuga was a guitarmaker established in Nagoya, Japan, in the late ’60s. In ’67, Tommy Moore, the successful musical instrument merchandiser from Ft. Worth, Texas, and one of the founders of Hondo, visited Japan in order to strike up a guitarmaking deal. With only a voucher of credit in his pocket and no contacts, Moore hooked up with a Mr. Kaku, who steered him to Tokai Gakki. Tokai had become very successful in Japan making and marketing the Pianaca, a keyboard harmonica used in Japanese schools. On December 15, 1970, Moore and Tokai Gakki entered a joint venture called Tokai USA Inc., and Tokai began making private label and OEM guitars.