1967 Masaru Kohno No. 8 SP/CSAR

This 1967 Masaru Kohno No. 8 is a classical guitar with a spruce top and CSA rosewood back and sides, made in Tokyo, Japan – from 1967, the year of his Gold Medal; Twanguero plays Merle Travis on it in the video above.

From the Gold Medal Year

In 1967 – the year this guitar was made – Kohno was awarded the Gold Medal at the international guitar-building competition in Belgium, his international debut. This is the classic sound of Kohno’s guitars from these years – clear, woody, with a touch of darkness unusual for spruce.

Model Number and Label

Kohno marked his guitars with a model (grade) number that placed each one within his range; the scale changed over the years, so the number is best read together with the year. The label is Kohno’s early one – “Masaru Kono, Constructor de Guitarras, Tokio”, in the spelling he used in those years – with “No. 8” and “Año 1967” written by hand (the year 1966 is crossed out and corrected to 1967).

Repairs and Finish

Three cracks in the back have been repaired, and the top has been refinished in French polish; the back and sides keep their lacquer. The condition is excellent, and the guitar is concert ready, with a comfortable set-up and easy playability. The string length is 656mm.

In the Video Above

Twanguero plays Merle Travis’s “Cannonball Rag” on this guitar.

Further Reading

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)

Not only the most important luthier to emerge from Japan, Masaru Kohno is also one of the best worldwide. He was born in 1926 in Mito City, Japan, and in 1948 he graduated from the Tokyo College of Arts and Crafts with a degree in woodcraft. It was during this time that he became interested in guitar construction, and in 1960 he traveled to Spain to learn the craft.

Six Months with Arcángel Fernández

Kohno apprenticed for six months at the workshop of Arcángel Fernández in Madrid, and although neither could speak a word of the other’s language, they managed to communicate. Kohno’s apprenticeship consisted mostly of sitting in the back of the shop and quietly – but attentively – observing the master Fernández at work. Upon his return to Tokyo he established his own workshop and quickly gained recognition among Japanese guitarists.

Gold Medal in Belgium, 1967

His international debut came in 1967, when he was awarded the Gold Medal at an international guitar-building competition in Belgium. On the judges’ panel were, among others, Ignacio Fleta, Robert Bouchet, Joaquín Rodrigo and Alirio Díaz. Since then, many players of world renown have used Kohno guitars; among them are Julian Bream, Oscar Ghiglia and Sharon Isbin, to name a few. After Kohno’s death in 1998 his nephew Masaki Sakurai carried on the workshop as Sakurai-Kohno, and today his grandson So Kimishima continues the tradition – read more on our page Kohno, Sakurai & Kimishima.