Joji Yoshida, Joji Yoshida Guitars & Ukes

Joji Yoshida was born in Yokohama, Japan in 1975. After playing guitar in multiple rock and Hawaiian bands for more than 20 years, one day Joji decided to start building guitars. He took the renowned master guitar builder Sergei de Jonge's Guitar Making Course. In fact, he took it twice (2010 and 2012).

Joji builds every detail of his instruments by hand in a small shop in Naha, Okinawa. He hand finishes his instruments with Shellac using the French Polish method. His instruments are labor intensive, so he builds approximately 12 per year.

The world is full of beautiful instruments that sit mostly unplayed. Being a musician himself, Joji does not want to build instruments that sit on display or stay in their cases. They are meant to be used for making music. Joji's goal is to build beautiful instruments that command to be played and used for a lifetime.