Kawai Viola Guitar 1967-1969 - Sunburst

1960’s Vintage Japanese Guitars like this are just plain cool. Clearly inspired by the famous Hofner Bass played by Paul McCartney of the Beatles, the luthiers at Kawaii decided that concept would be just as cool on a guitar and boy were they right!

This little beauty perfectly captures the Japanese sound of the 1960s through its original pickups and has a very comfortable body shape you probably won’t find on too many other guitars. The guitar has the popular zebra pickguard that Kawaii used in 1968 but unfortunately the original headstock logo was lost somewhere along the way so it’s impossible to place exactly what “Ghost brand“ it was sold under. Based on the shadow on the headstock my guess was either Coral or Kent but it could also be Zim Gar or others.

Overall in good playable shape! Tuners and pickups look original, not sure if there was once a tremolo on this body but it works like a trapeze tailpiece now ( but most likely original). The bridge was replaced with an aftermarket which I intentionally left medium so the next owner can leave as is or shave a little down as needed. Body and neck are in good shape with only a few delamination cracks on the top as with almost all 50 year old japanese hollowbody guitars. It seems stable and has never caused me any issue. Also looks to be missing 3 tuner ferrules cosmetically.

Thinning the herd of some of my vintage stash so now’s a great time to add this unique guitar to your collection for a great price. No case but will be shipped quickly and with care to its new home!