About the Archive
Preserving the History of Japanese Guitar Manufacturing
MIJ Archive is an independent historical archive dedicated to preserving the documents, publications, and printed history of Japanese guitar manufacturing.
Our Purpose
Preserve the record before it disappears.
The purpose of MIJ Archive is simple: to ensure that the catalogues, brochures, advertisements, factory literature, magazines, and research that documented one of the world’s great guitar-building traditions remain available for future generations.
Paper deteriorates. Collections become scattered. Websites disappear. Every year, original material becomes harder to find. MIJ Archive exists to preserve that history before it is lost.
Our Mission
Primary sources come first.
Our mission is to document and preserve the history of Japanese guitar manufacturing through original historical material.
Rather than relying on memory or repeated internet stories, MIJ Archive places primary-source documents at the centre of its research whenever possible. Every catalogue, brochure, advertisement, factory document, and publication preserved here represents a piece of that historical record.
What We Preserve
The surviving paper trail.
The archive is continually expanding to include original guitar catalogues, dealer brochures, product literature, magazine articles, period advertisements, factory documentation, historical photographs, company publications, books, reference material, timelines, research papers, and historical essays.
Every item is preserved as a historical document rather than commercial material.
What We Are Not
Preservation, not valuation.
MIJ Archive is not a price guide, appraisal service, buying or selling platform, serial-number registry, authentication service, marketplace, or discussion forum.
Collectors may use the archive as a research tool, but its purpose is preservation rather than valuation.
Research Standards
Accuracy matters.
Whenever possible, information is based on original source material rather than secondary references. Facts are separated from opinion, and information that cannot be confirmed is identified as uncertain rather than presented as established history.
Corrections are welcomed, documented, and incorporated as new evidence becomes available. The archive is intended to grow more accurate over time.
About the Founder
Derek Rodgers
MIJ Archive was created by Derek Rodgers, a Canadian collector, researcher, author, and founder of Tsunami Guitars.
For nearly ten years, Derek has collected Japanese guitars, catalogues, magazines, advertisements, and other historical material documenting the evolution of Japan’s guitar industry. During that time, he recognized that many of the original documents telling this story were becoming increasingly difficult to locate, with much of the history scattered across private collections or at risk of disappearing.
MIJ Archive was created to help preserve those materials and make them accessible to collectors, researchers, musicians, and anyone interested in the history of Japanese guitar manufacturing.
Derek is also the author of MIJ Confidential, a book exploring the history, mystery, and passion behind Japanese guitars through the perspective of a collector.
Preserve. Document. Celebrate.
Related Projects
Tsunami Guitars & MIJ Confidential
An Ongoing Archive
A living historical collection.
New material is continually being researched, preserved, catalogued, and added as it becomes available.
Collectors, historians, former employees, musicians, and researchers who can contribute verified historical information are encouraged to help preserve this remarkable chapter of guitar history.