The following Yamaki / Daion history and timeline has been compiled with care for accuracy. Please see the footnotes and citations at the bottom of this page for our information sources. If you have additional information that you would like to contribute, please Contact Us.
Yamaki / Daion History & Timeline
1954 - This date appears on the inside of many Yamaki branded acoustic guitars. “Est 1954” is also prominently featured on the headstock of the YD Series. This is the year Kazuyuki Teradaira, one of the founders of Yamaki Guitars, built his first guitar as a luthier[1].
1962 - Yamaki Guitars is founded by Yasuyuki and Kazuyuki Teradaira. Yasuyuki Teradaira was in charge of accounting and sales. Kazuyuki Teradaira was in charge of manufacturing[2]. Early guitars were mainly C. F. Martin copies (D-18 to D-45) and initially only marketed and sold in Japan. Yamaki was located in Suwa, Nagano Prefecture. In 1983 Yamaki relocated nearby to Shiga, Nagano Prefecture[3]. The Yamaki name comes from "Yama Iku" and is said to translate as “the trees of the mountain are happy.[4]" Over the next two decades, Yamaki would manufacture its own brand of guitars, as well as models for JooDee, Canyon, Kizan, Folks, Gold Hawk, Tomson, Marchis, Folex, Washburn (early wing series), Daion, and possibly others.
1967 - Daion Co., Ltd is founded as a wholesaler of musical instruments, located in Osaka Japan, and is the exclusive Japanese distributor of Yamaki Guitars. Daion Co., LTD is listed as the distributor on many early Yamaki sales brochures and catalogs from the 1970s. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, Daion Co. Ltd. would distribute American brands in Japan such as Peavey, Washburn, and Mighty Mite.
1974 - Hirotsugu (Hiro) Teradaira, son of Yasuyuki, graduates from Kwansei Gakuin University [5] and joins his father’s company Daion Co., LTD. Hiro Teradaira was born November 27, 1951 in Osaka City [6].
1974 - Meloway, Inc. from Minneapolis Minnesota, has a pamphlet printed with various Yamaki models. Meloway may be one of the earliest Yamaki distributors in the United States.
1975-76 - Shinano was a subsidiary factory for Yamaki. Shinano was founded by Naoto Shimura, who worked with Kasuyuki Teradaira at Zen-On. Shinano produced classical guitars and Yamaki produced steel string guitars [7].
1975-77 - Hiro Teradaira works at Great West Imports Ltd., based in Vancouver Canada, a wholesaler and distributor of Yamaki Guitars. Canadian market Yamaki (and JooDee) guitars are easily identifiable by the “AY” prefix in the model number. Hiro is living in Canada at this time working on his English and learning about the North American market and consumer[8]. Upon his return to Japan in 1977, Hiro Teradaira helped establish the trading department for his father at Daion Co., LTD.
1976 - JooDee and Yamaki use similar taglines in advertising. JooDee with “Get In Rock,” and Yamaki “Get in Folk.” Sometimes both brands are advertised in the same ad.
1977 - Kizan is a short lived brand used by Yamaki. In Japanese, Kizan is Yamaki with the lettering switched around.
1977 - Yamaki Guitars does a collaboration with Waltz-Do, a retailer in Japan. There are two bespoke acoustic models offered, both with a distinctive “aluminum sash” that is visible on the back of the neck.
1978 - Hiro Teradaira designs his first guitar. This would be the beginning of THE YEAR SERIES, starting with THE ‘78. Later YEAR SERIES, released annually, would be THE ‘79, ‘80, ‘81, and ‘82.
1978 - Yamaki Electrics Catalog and Price List published in June 1978. The “Performer” models differed from the earlier JooDee “Artist” and “Standard” models with unique features such as the Epochal Rod System (ERS) on the Fender copies and printed and shielded circuit boards on the Gibson copies.
1978-1984 - Daion branded instruments were exported abroad, with Hiro Teradaira acting as trade manager. It was decided not to use the Yamaki brand in the United States so it would not be confused with Yamaha[9]. In total there were 11 countries (and companies) distributing for Daion[10].
1978 - Daion Co. LTD attends NAMM in Chicago, representing Yamaki, Daion, Hamox, Belcat, Joodee, Chaki, Matand, and Mitsuru Tamura. In attendance was Taichi Teradaira, Hirotsuga Teradaira, Hiromi Kitagami, Masaji Kaifu, and Atsuhiro Takai.
1978-1984 - MCI, Inc., (Musiconics International) located in Waco, TX, was the exclusive Daion distributor in the United States. MCI started advertising Daion in magazines in 1979. Notable MCI personnel were Tom Burr, Ken Frazier (sales manager), and Bob Murrell (founder of MCI and creator of the GuitOrgan).
1978 - First MCI catalog featuring the Daion brand were Founder guitars rebranded as Daion for the US market.
1979 - MCI Sales Slick with Yamaki models rebranded as Daion.
1979 - Rosetti (EMI) Ltd, in period advertisements is listed as the distributor for Mugen/Daion in the UK. Rosetti is also mentioned as Daion’s UK distributor in a 1983 magazine review.
1979 - First MCI advertisement of Daion guitars featuring Chris O’Connell and Ray Benson of the band Asleep At The Wheel.
1979 - First year of the Daion POWER SERIES eclectic guitars and basses produced. This is Daion’s first electric guitars and basses of their own design (though in some markets outside of the United States these instruments were marketed under the Yamaki brand). The first generation POWER SERIES (1979-1980) are a blend of the Washburn wings series and the second generation POWER SERIES that were produced from 1980-1984. The second generation was only marketed under the Daion brand.
1981 - Daion publishes a catalog with a full range of electric basses and guitars of its own design (POWER SERIES and SAVAGE SERIES). We know from serial numbers that production actually started in 1980.
1982 - MCI Daion Price List showing the full Daion brand range, including the HEADHUNTER 555.
1982 - Ads from Australian distributor CMI (Central Musical Instruments) start hitting magazines.
1982 - German catalog showing the Double Neck Acoustic ‘THE 80 W.
1983 - At some point, Yamaki stops making Daion branded instruments. It is believed that Cushin picked up production until 1984 [citation needed].
1984 - Last MCI catalog published with Daion instruments. This catalog has the only known marketing photo of the Power Series Power X-BD (double neck bass). Plastic knobs and switch tips are now being used on the electric models. Eddy Raven is pictured on the inside cover playing a custom white Daion acoustic.
1984 - Last MCI Price List shows models that were not photographed in any catalog, such as the MARK XXV and MARK XXX. The Mark IV is missing from the acoustic line up, and green is no longer a color option on the POWER MARK series.
1984 - The ‘84 Pro is the last Daion guitar designed by Hirotsuga Teradaira. Sadly, there was only a prototype and the guitar never made production.
1984 - All Japanese production of Daion instruments ceases and Daion Co., LTD closes its doors. Hiro Teradaira describes some of the events that led to this financial inevitability (translated from the original Japanese):
“Daion Guitars sold like hotcakes… At their peak, they received orders for 3,000 guitars a month. But that led to a ‘tragedy.’ Yamaki can only make up to 1,000 guitars in a month. In an industry that deals in raw wood, it's not that easy to increase the number from 1,000 to 3,000, because there is no wood stockpile. You can't make a guitar unless you cut down the wood and dry it thoroughly… Business was tough. They couldn't even pay their employees' salaries. Anyway, they made 3,000 pieces and shipped them out, and that's how they got the money. My uncle, who was a craftsman, knew better than anyone what would happen if they made them out of damp wood… Apparently, most of the guitars that were landed at overseas ports had their tops split in two.[12]"
Over the years there have been many musicians and bands that have played Daion instruments, such as: Lasse Tennander, Fleetwood Mac, Peter O. Ekberg, The Fureys & Davey Arthur, Eddy Raven, Split Enz, Ray Benson and Chris O’Connell (Asleep At The Wheel), Warren Haynes (Allman Brothers, David Allen Coe, Gov’t Mule), Tom Hamilton and Brad Whitford (Aerosmith), Ray Fenwick, Janie Fricke, Roy Clark, Jahn Teigen, John Dallimore, Jean Stafford, and others.
1984-1985 - Brazos brand appears with a model BA-78, based on THE ‘78, with a label stating it was assembled in Korea. Scott Pelking a former MCI employee explains how the Brazos brand came about:
“When it appeared that Daion was not going to produce guitars anymore, and we at MCI wouldn't have them to distribute, we worked with the Terada factory to make another line we hoped would dove-tail in with the demise of Daion as a brand. Since we were in Waco, and the Brazos river ran through it, we decided to brand the line ‘Brazos.’ What you see on the label above is my calligraphic design for the logo.[13]”
1984-1985 - John Birkhead creates the Anea brand (named after his daughter). From a 2017 email from John Birkhead:
“The Anea was designed in Texas and made in Japan and Korea. Daion went out of business in the middle 80’s and I put the Anea name on some of the better models of Daion… In 1984 we had them made in Japan, in a small shop that I never visited. Because the Daion was doing well I had the Daion name put on the Anea cedar-top acoustic. It replace the Daion 78 and held that name until 1986 when Daion went out.[14]”
Many Anea models seem to be rebranded Daion designs (or perhaps created from leftover Daion inventory). For example, the Anea SE-15 is based on THE ‘78, the EO-9/T derived from an ‘81 Caribou, and the TN-27 from the Legacy 999.
1985 - Hiro Teradaira changes careers and becomes a DJ. Hiro becomes a popular and well-known DJ for decades at FM802[15].
1985 - Completely unrelated to the original Japanese entity, the Daion brand continues under Central Musical Instrument (CMI) of Australia. In 1985 CMI sold what is probably the remaining Japanese Daion parts assembled in Korea into full instruments. “Performer” models are introduced by CMI, which were constructed in Korea.
1986 - Though no longer produced by Daion in Japan, CMI advertises the Mugen Mark Series and THE YEAR Series as available for purchase.
1987 - CMI still lists the Mark III and Mark IV as available, but at this point most Daion models advertised are the Korean made “Rockson” line.
1991 - The oldest publication we can find showing CMI still selling Daion branded instruments.
2020 - Daion.com launched (this website).
