The history of Kiwaya, the now world-famous manufacturer of high-quality ukuleles from Japan, goes back to 1919, when the company was founded by Kitaro Okamoto. At that time, the company repaired gramophones and ran a small music store. Ukuleles then became part of Kiwaya’s history in 1955 when Ryouji Okamoto took over the company. Inspired by the “hype” of the ukulele in Japan at the time, his goal was to become Japan’s most successful and best manufacturer of ukuleles.

The quality of the instruments and his decades of dedication to the ukulele in Japan finally paid off. Today, Kiwaya is known in Japan and around the world as an institution and manufacturer of high-quality, fantastic instruments that are handcrafted with great attention to detail.

Kiwaya celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2019.