The A/Y headstock logo is seen on high end models in the local Rock Inn shop in Sendai, it`s not just for those exports to the US. They have a wall of them and this isn`t a very big city, go to Tokyo or Osaka and you`ll see many more hanging in shops. The powerful yen is putting a damper on many Japanese companies that export to America right now, in fact theres talk the gov`t will step in...they`ve done that before and it works for a while but goes back up...so that may have a role to play in the situation overseas.
The Japan Vintage book, volume 3 from the acoustic series has an article with an extensive interview with Kazuo and many guitar pics going back to his earliest models...published in 2006 however I believe he is still alive and kicking.
Hard to say just how much information about the Yairi family is accurate...seems there was some bad blood between Kazuo and Sadao...some say they were brothers some say cousins...but it does seem the original Sadao Yairi did leave the Suzuki violin factory in 1935...think it was...to branch out on his own and start a guitar factory. Many Japanese evidently think for steel strings...Kazuo...for nylon strings, Sadao ... I own 7 Sada nylon strings now and they are fabulous guitars, do not own any Kazuo models though the same Rock Inn is full of em but I`m only interested in used guitars. Evidently one of Sadao`s sons now operates the S. Yairi line made today, his dad passed some time ago, I`m sure the info on when is out there I just haven`t looked it up...but I can say the nylon string S. Yairis I have are fantastic and they are still very inexpensive on the used market though guitars do not seem to be a priority for many Japanese people these days and that probably is a factor in the prices.
You guys wanna play Yairis of every ilk and price, come to Japan...or if any of you have friends here they can easily find them and pick one out.
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