When was my Yairi made?
By reading the number stamped on the heel block of your Yairi, you can tell in which year it was made. The first two numbers correspond to the year of the Emperor of Japan at that time. (See chart below.) The second two numbers refer to the month of production.
|
A.D. |
Emperor |
Year |
|
|
||
|
1970 |
Showa |
45 |
|
1971 |
46 |
|
|
1972 |
47 |
|
|
1973 |
48 |
|
|
1974 |
49 |
|
|
1975 |
50 |
|
|
1976 |
51 |
|
|
1977 |
52 |
|
|
1978 |
53 |
|
|
1979 |
54 |
|
|
1980 |
55 |
|
|
1981 |
56 |
|
|
1982 |
57 |
|
|
1983 |
58 |
|
|
1984 |
59 |
|
|
1985 |
60 |
|
|
1986 |
61 |
|
|
1987 |
62 |
|
|
1988 |
63 |
|
|
1989 |
Heisa |
1 |
|
1990 |
2 |
|
|
1991 |
3 |
|
|
1992 |
4 |
|
|
1993 |
5 |
|
|
1994 |
6 |
|
|
1995 |
7 |
|
|
1996 |
8 |
|
|
1997 |
9 |
|
|
1998 |
10 |
|
|
1999 |
11 |
|
|
2000 |
12 |
|
|
End of Emperor Date Code |
||
|
2001 |
01 |
|
|
2002 |
02 |
|
|
2003 |
03 |
|
|
2004 |
04 |
|
|
2005 |
05 |
|
|
etc. |
||
|
|
||
My Yairi Guitars 
Comments on: "EMPEROR DATING CODE" (5)
I’ve just come upon this wonderful site by accident. I have a K.Yairi guitar that I bought second hand about 24 years ago. I’ve looked inside and the label says Anne 1982.a 82. Model No (I’d never noticed the model had my name before) Serial number is 20373 followed by 57.4.02 (Which according to your Emperor information confirms that the guitar was made in 1982. Making it 28 yrs old. I still play this guitar socially and professionally and never tire of comments about the quality and tone of the sound. Anne
Hello Anne,
Yes, the 57 means it was made in 1982. The ANNE is for ANNO or YEAR made, so it isn’t a model 1982. There should be a line on the label that says MODEL__________ If it has faded or isn’t marked on the label, and you are interested in what model you have, if you send me photo’s I can see if I can pin it down by what I see from the photo’s. Send photo’s of label, rosette, front of headstock, front and back of guitar to yairi_luvr@comcast.net
yl
I have a Sadao guitar that my dad bought me in 1983. It still plays and sounds great with no problem at all.
Just don’t really know how to date it and find out how much it’s worth these days. The label says:
SADAO
by S. Yairi
No. YG50 Nagoya, Japan
This is my baby and I’ll never sell. Just want to know more about it.
Can someone help?
Thanks
Hello Andrew,
I’d need photo’s to be sure of what you have. If it’s not a Samick (which it sounds like it isn’t) then it would be one of the last ones he made before going bankrupt and leaving Japan. The Emperor dating code would be of no use, as Sadao didn’t use it, but the numbers found on the heelblock might be of some help as I have some info on those.
If you can send pix, send to yairi_luvr@comcast.net
yl
Hi my name is leigh. I have a K Yairi DY63 1985 guitar. I’ve had it 4 years now and will never part with it. I love this guitar! so im trying to get info on it. the thing is, i’ve seen other pics of this model online and they dont seem to match mine exactly. the differences are in the head it only had K Yairi showing. There is no Alverez logo on this guitar anywhere. The tuning pegs also have K Yairi not alverez. It has all other features as ones i’ve researched like the signature and bi phonic pickup. Was there 2 types of that model? I was wondering if you can shed some light on my questions.