Vintage MIJ Hollow Body Archtop Guitar Natural Finish Japan w/ Restored Hardware

Here is a very cool and extremely vibey vintage Japanese hollow body archtop that absolutely screams late 1960s to early 1970s Japanese craftsmanship and design.

While the exact maker is unknown, this guitar has all the hallmarks of the golden-era Japanese factory-built hollow bodies that came out of factories supplying countless house brands during the Teisco / Guyatone / Kawai / Zen-On / Firstman era. The body shape, zero fret construction, headstock carve, trapeze tailpiece, and overall build style all point strongly toward that period of Japanese guitar production.

These guitars are becoming increasingly collectible as more players and collectors dive deeper into the early Japanese market beyond the better-known “lawsuit era” instruments. There is a ton of charm here — lightweight fully hollow construction, dry woody acoustic response, and the kind of visual aging and patina that simply cannot be faked.

Important: This guitar has a big bow down the neck which has caused a big amount of relief. Unfortunately there is not an adjustable truss rod so you will either need to be okay with the relief, or you could pursue trying to use something like a heat press to straighten the neck.

The action is on the higher side because of that, but not unplayable. Realistically, you're gonna be mostly living on the first four frets on this one. The bridge saddle is currently adjusted the lowest it can go.

The metal hardware has been cleaned up extremely well and presents nicely while still retaining vintage character and age.

At some point in its life, plastic had melted onto the face of the guitar. This was carefully removed, though there are some chips and finish wear left behind in that area from the removal process. Please review photos carefully.

One of the coolest details on this guitar is the personalized artwork and signature under the finish:

• The flower on the front of the headstock is beneath the clear coat
• The signature on the back of the headstock is also beneath the finish

That means these were not later stickers or marker additions — they were intentionally preserved into the instrument’s history decades ago. It honestly adds a really fascinating one-of-one folk-art style character to the guitar.

A super cool piece for the player or collector who appreciates unusual MIJ instruments from the early Japanese guitar boom.

Please review all photos carefully for condition details.

Case: Gig Bag

Scale Length: 26“

Nut Width: 1.63“

Fret Wear: 9.5/10

Action at 12F (6th): 8/64“

Action at 12F (1st): 8/64“

Weight: 4lbs 9oz

Overall Condition: 7/10

Sound Factor: 11 out of 10

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Internal Use (Bin) - PA-2-1