EVERY
THREAD.
Pick a door. See where it takes you. MIJ culture is bigger than a logo or a decade.
BRANDS
& MAKERS
The names on the headstock, the factories behind them and the people who built the things.
ASK ABOUT IT ↗02CATALOGUES
& ADS
Old adverts, price lists, weird translations and the page that finally gives it away.
COMPARE NOTES ↗03ERAS
& ORIGINS
Vintage, lawsuit, refined, custom and the years nobody can agree on.
SORT IT OUT ↗04BUILDERS
& REPAIR
Setups, refrets, pickups, parts and the stuff you only notice after you open it up.
SHOW YOUR WORK ↗05PLAYERS
& TONE
The records, rigs, hands and sounds that make one guitar feel different from another.
TALK TONE ↗06COLLECTING
& PROVENANCE
Buying, selling, identifying, valuing and figuring out what the last owner changed.
COMPARE NOTES ↗07SHOPS
& THE HUNT
Used shops, local leads, online listings and the moments when a good guitar turns up.
FIND THE LEAD ↗08PARTS
& PICKUPS
Hardware, electronics, upgrades and the small changes that can alter the whole instrument.
OPEN THE CAVITY ↗09MUSIC
& INFLUENCE
The players, records and sounds that put Japanese guitars on the map.
FOLLOW THE SOUND ↗10REGIONS
& EXPORT
Factory towns, export routes and the places that shaped how these guitars travelled.
TRACE THE ROUTE ↗11THE
OUTER EDGE
Obscure builders, repair shops, custom work and details that refuse to fit a label.
GO OFF-ROAD ↗