Cat's Eyes "Inspected By" Label - Terawaki Factory

[Sigmania]

Edit: It is looking like these "inspected by" labels appear on guitars made at the "Terawaki factory".

Terashima and Terwaki Cat's Eyes Production


CE200 with a clouded finish, but it has an interesting "Inspected By" label. Not sure if that happened at the Tokai factory or not?

Tokai CE200 - ヤフオク!

 

[Homer J. Simpson]

Interesting question. Here's another example:

https://reverb.com/item/56582565-circa-1970s-tokai-cat-s-eyes-ce-300-western-mij
There was also a "K.Suzuki" inspecting Cats Eyes:

https://reverb.com/item/31711830-tokai-cat-s-eyes-tce-30-rare-mij
It seems there are a few more Cats Eyes having these labels, also showing up on Japanese sites. But according to the number of Google hits, the "K.Saigo" label was just as often found in "Aspen" labeled guitars. Here's a thread in this forum speculating if they were made by Tokai:

https://www.tokaiforum.com/threads/were-aspen-guitars-made-by-tokai-in-the-1970s.12594/#post-87888
(Not that anything of this would contain a substantial hint on the origin of the guitars or that label.)

Check the fretboard inlays on this one:

https://losangeles.craigslist.org/sfv/msg/d/sylmar-martin-d35-dreadnought-clone/7657582138.html
So it seems quite possible that at least some of the "Aspen" models were made by Tokai and the label seems to be another indicator for that. The one linked to above has the label on the heel, just like the Aspens. That still doesn't explain where "K.Saigo" or "K.Suzuki" inspected these guitars though. It seems natural that this was at the Tokai factory, but it could also have been at a distributor (Rokkomann?).

 

[Sigmania]

TOKAI 東海 CAT'S EYES キャッツアイ CE-350S ... - ヤフオク!

 

[Sigmania]

These are lower priced models.

I am wondering about the set up of the factory.

In the thread with the guy that worked there he said that the high end acoustics were made in a separate facility.

"Raw guitars produced at the headquarters factory in Terawaki were mainly mass-produced products. We produced CE150-CE300 mass-produced products and CE400-CE600 semi-manufactured products. Luxury handicrafts with a CE rating of 800 or higher were made at the "Terashima Factory" on the south side of Hamamatsu Station."

Norihiro Yoshida's Blog, Tokai Employee 1979-1984

I also just found a Cat's Eyes made in Korea from 1995 ?

Cat's Eyes Made In Korea

I am wondering if this was oversight on a department that was operating in a different area than the high end ones and possibly even another country? Oversight to give buyers assurances that the quality was up to their standard ?

Just speckerlatin'

 

[Sigmania]

TOKAI トーカイ Cats Eyes キャッツアイ CE-300 ... - ヤフオク!

 

[Sigmania]

Back to my original theory...

Many of these are lower end models.

I am wondering if the parts were curt elsewhere? Korea? China? Then assembled and inspected by someone in house?

See these with a different headstock logo.

"Tokai Acoustic Guitar Since 1947" Headstock

 

[Sigmania]

CAT'S EYES CE-200 アコギ(1030 キャッツアイ/ア... - Yahoo!オークション

 

[Sigmania]

80S Domestic Vintage Tokai Catseye Tce25-St By Kiso Suzuki Yoshion | eBay

 

[Sigmania]

TOKAI 東海楽器 Cat's Eyes キャッツアイ CE-300... - Yahoo!オークション

 

[Sigmania]

It is looking like these "inspected by" labels appear on guitars made at the "Terawaki factory".

Terashima and Terwaki Cat's Eyes Production

 

[Sigmania]

TOKAI CAT'S EYES CE-400CF アコースティックギ... - Yahoo!オークション

 

[Sigmania]

TOKAI Cat's Eyes CE-300 / 東海楽器 キャッツア... - Yahoo!オークション

 

[Sigmania]

CE-350 MB

【超希少】TOKAI GAKKI Cat's Eyes CE-350MB メ... - Yahoo!オークション

[Super Rare]
TOKAI GAKKI Cat's Eyes CE-350MB
Metallic Blue 80's
Masayoshi Takanaka
Japan Vintage
Old Domestic Made in Japan
Hard case included

Serial number 3500019.
INSPECTED BY K.SUZUKI (Kiso Suzuki inspected?).
It seems to be made in the early 80's.
There are cracks in the binding, rust on the metal parts, dents, etc., but I think it is in good condition considering it is about 40 years old.
It is a metallic blue model that is rarely seen even used and is difficult to obtain. I think the sound is good.

 

[Sigmania]

TOKAI Cat's Eye CE-450D Acoustic Guitar Natural Stringed Instrument with Hard Case TOKAI