The Manzanar art guitar is the first one I’ve made using my AJ model as a platform. All my prior art guitars used its larger predecessor, the P-1. Where my earlier P-1 versions were virtually completely hollowed out to house their art, the AJ version has a smaller hollow art window, but utilizes the solid surface of the guitar as well to express the total message of the piece.

Twenty plus years ago I was working on a body of art called “Behind the Walls”. It used the backside of lath and plaster type wall sections as the canvas, and the overall theme was “things people hide”… many times because they’re ashamed. One of my favorite pieces in that series was about Manzanar, the Japanese internment camp in California during World War Two. I wanted to revisit it with this first AJ art piece.

Manzanar was one of ten Japanese internment camps in the US during WWII, created in response to Executive Order 9066. From 1942 thru 1945 more than 11,000 Japanese people, over two thirds of which were American born, were held in this camp. It was located about 225 miles north of Los Angeles in the Owens Valley. I’ve passed by it many times driving on Highway 395. It’s a stark reminder of an ugly time.

When I was growing up in Whittier, California, I had several Japanese friends whose parents were in the camps. They were happy, quiet, peaceful people. They lived simply and some of them were gardeners and kept beautiful landscapes around their homes. Their appreciation of simple beauty always stuck with me, as did their seeming lack of resentment for what had befallen them during the war. As I grew older, I ended up visiting Japan on many occasions due to my design position at Fender Guitars, and later with my own company. I made many friends with my co-workers there, and sometimes we spoke in amazement that if we were just one generation older, we would be trying to kill each other, as opposed to being good friends, working side by side.

When I wasn’t tied up with work in Japan, I would wander the streets to see the sights. I was amazed at the architecture, simple yet beautiful. I would watch TV shows in my hotel room showing fine craftsmen creating pieces with woodworking joinery that was incredibly complex and precise, or other artists creating beautiful hand-made paper, or writing cursive Kanji with a brush… it mesmerized me. My close friend Makoto Sugimoto took me to tour Matsumoto Castle, where I was amazed by the intricate construction of the building as well as the stunning artifacts held within, including full suits of armor, and other works of brilliant craftsmanship. Outside the Cherry Blossoms were all in bloom and made the scene incredibly surreal. Another friend, Tomo Kurosawa, took my wife Dana and I to tour the temples of Kyoto. Again, I was mesmerized by the construction of the buildings, and the exquisite craftsmanship of the statues of Buddha. In one temple, 1000 Golden Buddhas… stunning! The color of the wood, the brilliance of the Cherry blossoms, and the pride in hand making even the simplest things… like paper (Washi), etched itself into my creative soul.

With all that as the back story, let me now explain the Manzanar guitar and its artwork. The body of the guitar is made from reclaimed old growth Redwood. It was removed from an old shop near me in Southern Oregon. It’s grain and color reminded me very much of the wood I had seen in Japan… ancient Japanese Redwood, also known as Sugi. There’s a sign there since my good buddy Makoto Sugimoto’s guitar company is named Sugi! That was a good foundation to start. I wanted the neck to look old, but to be strong and stable, so I chose roasted ? sawn Sugar Maple. The fretboard is a streaked African Ebony with Mother of Pearl inlay at the 12th fret in cursive Kanji, spelling out “freedom”. The artwork inside the art window on the body signifies the ability of the Japanese internees to find beauty despite the ugliness of their surroundings and situation. The inside back drop is a piece of hand-made Washi I bought on one of my trips to Japan. The Origami Crane is made from Chiyogami Yuzen Origami Paper, made and hand silk screened in Japan, and folded by me and my clumsy old mitts. I hand-made the barbed wire from Nickel Silver wire to signify the captivity in the camp. Although it only shows two wires, the camp fences were actually strung with 5 strands of barbed wire. The scene is covered by a non-glare acrylic sheet, surrounded by a solid Brass trim ring. The raw Brass brings memories of military plaques to me, so I thought it was appropriate.

The three cursive Kanji characters on the body say “Soul Consoling Tower” and were originally engraved on a tall White monument at the camp overlooking their graveyard (where it still stands today). It is a somber message, but beautiful calligraphy. On the other end of the guitar, the peghead, the serial number is stamped in the back. The number is 541. It is the number of children who were born in the camp during the internment of their parents. Those two extremes seem like poignant Inyo (Yin Yang) to me.

I wanted the guitar to have an older, simpler, vibe to it, thus the plastic buttoned tuners and vintage Tele style 3 saddle bridge. The vintage 3-wing Bakelite radio volume knob seemed to fit in perfectly, as did the TV Jones Filtertron. The body and neck are finished in a satin OSMO hard wax/oil. Because the Redwood is by nature soft the body will take on dings and wear by design. To me it represents the resilience and beauty of the Japanese people that it was built to recognize. Bumps and bruises will not stop the beauty it can convey.

My signature on the peghead is milled into the surface and gilded with genuine Silver. The rear raw Brass cover plate also bears my signature, the year it was completed (2023) and the name of this piece… Manzanar.

Created for my friend and brilliant artist, Steve Pitkin.