1978 Mitsuru Tamura flamenco blanca

A beautiful 1978 flamenco guitar.  The serial # inside: 21233. The nut, saddle and frets appear original, the machine heads likely a replacement, although no new or additional screw holes in the headstock have been found. 

There is inevitable cosmetic wear throughout — some scratches, dings, and finish loss visible across the body, consistent with years of active playing, no structural issues. Neck is straight and stable. Playability is fully intact. This is a player's guitar that has been played. 

The instrument has new D’Addario ProArte EJ25C flamenco strings with Rosette string beads and comes with a good quality non-original hard case. 

The Maker 

Mitsuru Tamura (田村満) is the younger brother of Hiroshi Tamura. Both worked out of Kochi, on the island of Shikoku, and both traveled to Spain in the late 1950s to early 1960s to study traditional construction firsthand. The Tamura brothers were known above all for their flamenco guitars — in Japan, "Tamura" and "flamenco" became nearly synonymous among players who knew the instruments well. 

The No.1000 was priced at ¥100,000 new — in 1978, a serious sum, roughly equivalent to one and a half months of a new graduate's salary. This was not an entry-level instrument. It sat alongside Yamaha GC10 and Kohno No.10 in the top tier of production available to Japanese players at the time. 

Mitsuru worked in a small workshop with a handful of apprentices, producing perhaps 10 to 20 guitars per month. His output was limited, and his instruments are less frequently encountered on the market than his brother's. All-solid construction throughout — confirmed by internal inspection. 

Specs 

• Year: 1978 

• Model: No.1000 Flamenco 

• Maker: Mitsuru Tamura (田村満) 

• Top: Solid Spruce 

• Back & Sides: Solid Cypress 

• Neck: Mahogany 

• Fingerboard: Ebony 

• Bridge: Rosewood 

• Golpeador: Yes 

• Scale: 660mm  

• Nut width: 52mm  

• Action (12th fret):  2mm — flamenco setup 

• Weight: 3.15lb 

• Neck: Straight, no issues 

• Construction: All solid 

• Country: Japan