2023 So Kimishima "Stella" CD/IN

This 2023 So Kimishima “Stella” is a classical guitar with a cedar top and Indian rosewood back and sides, made in Tokyo, Japan; Irina Kulikova plays a 2023 Kimishima in the video above.

Kimishima’s Own Model

Kohno’s grandson So Kimishima trained with his uncle Masaki Sakurai in the family workshop from 2007; in 2021 he announced the “Stella”, his own model. Kimishima built it around the sound of his grandfather’s guitars from the 1950s and 1960s, adding the ideas and techniques of his master, Sakurai.

Sound and Playability

Kimishima varies the bracing according to the tonewood of the top, believing that each material sounds best when the design is tuned to its strengths – the main difference from the other Kohno and Sakurai models. Two ebony reinforcing strips in the back of the neck make a very accurate set-up possible – a low, easy action without buzzing – and the stiffer neck improves sustain as well. With cedar on top, the sound is warm and full, yet clear and balanced. Its power is enough for any concert, including playing in an ensemble.

The Label

On his label from Kohno Guitar Manufacturing: So Kimishima, Model “Stella”, 2023, signed. In short, a top-quality concert instrument with a great deal of charm.

In the Video Above

Irina Kulikova plays “En Mi Corazón” by Eduardo Díaz on a 2023 So Kimishima.

Read and Watch More

In the video above, Shin-ichi Fukuda plays Bach on a guitar made by Masaki Sakurai, Kimishima’s teacher (“The Luthier and the Guitarist”). For more on Japanese guitar making, see Orfeo No. 15, “The Guitar in Japan”: it can be read online and is included in the print edition “Orfeo Magazine, 11-15”.

Orfeo No. 15: The Guitar in Japan

Orfeo Magazine, 11-15 (print edition)

Masaru Kohno (1926–1998)

Kohno, Sakurai & Kimishima are three generations of one Tokyo guitar-making family. Masaru Kohno – Japan’s most important classical guitar maker, and one of the best worldwide – was born in 1926 in Mito City. In 1960 he traveled to Spain and apprenticed for six months with Arcángel Fernández in Madrid; back in Tokyo he established his own workshop, and in 1967 he was awarded the Gold Medal at an international guitar-building competition in Belgium, judged among others by Ignacio Fleta, Robert Bouchet, Joaquín Rodrigo and Alirio Díaz. Julian Bream, Oscar Ghiglia and Sharon Isbin are among the many players of world renown who have used Kohno guitars.

Masaki Sakurai (1944–2025)

Born in Tokyo on May 10, 1944, Masaki Sakurai joined the workshop of his uncle, Masaru Kohno, in 1966. Among many other accomplishments, in 1988 he was awarded First Prize at the 4th International Guitar Making Competition in Paris, France. Mr. Kohno passed away in 1998, and the workshop was taken over by Sakurai, who carried on its legacy under the name Sakurai-Kohno. The guitars built since he took over have maintained the high levels of quality, precision craftsmanship, meticulous attention to detail and beauty of tone that have made Kohno guitars world renowned. Masaki Sakurai passed away in 2025 at the age of 81 (read our tribute).

So Kimishima (born 1983)

So Kimishima, Masaru Kohno’s grandson, studied at the Musashi Institute of Technology in Tokyo and joined the family workshop, where since 2007 he has worked and trained with his uncle, the great Masaki Sakurai. His guitars are based largely on the sound of Masaru Kohno’s guitars from the 1950s and 1960s, with design ideas and techniques learned from Sakurai, and he uses different bracing designs according to the tonewood of each top. In 2021 he announced his own model, the “Stella”, followed by his flagship “Sol” and its sister model “Luna”.