Read the instrument. Follow the evidence.
Tokai Serial Number Lookup | Guitar Dating Guide
Date supported vintage and later Japanese serials while separating copied Fender-era neck plates from production-year codes.
Browse Tokai manuals and guides ↗Historical and current systems
What’s marked on your instrument?
Japanese Gibson-style and early Fender-style electrics, vintage neck-plate ranges and limited export-prefix identification.
Check the source era
What the research
supports and leaves open.
- Tokai uses different systems by model family, country and era. Confirm the model family before dating a numeric serial; a seven-digit number is not a universal Tokai date code.
- The old single-digit and later two-digit year systems overlap. For example, 900xxxx can fit 1979 or 1990 and 00xxxxx can fit 1980 or 2000; both interpretations remain visible until physical evidence resolves them.
- From 1982 many Fender-style neck plates imitate Fender serial styling. An L prefix describes a copied early-1960s era, not a 1960s Tokai build date. The 1982–1986 range table is approximate.
- Six-digit Fender-style and many Custom Edition, Super Edition, acoustic, Korean and Chinese serials are not reliable Japanese year codes. This tool does not invent a date for them.
- The specialist’s 1988 Gibson-style table and the maintained registry disagree on the transition year. A possible 1988 interpretation is marked as a source-dependent estimate.
- CH/C and CN/VN export prefixes are country clues in the maintained registry, not verified date codes; CN attribution is disputed. Confirm the country marking on the instrument.
- An LS, ST or other model number generally reflected a price tier within its era, so it cannot establish a fixed specification across decades. AST-62 refers to a copied model year, not necessarily a production date.
Research reviewed October 16, 2026. This independent tool applies published conventions and ranges; it does not search a manufacturer’s private instrument registry.
Research references
Japanese Gibson-style: vintage seven-digit year
Confirmed Japanese Gibson-style vintage impressed seven-digit headstock serial.
This is the vintage single-digit system. The same leading digits can also fit a later two-digit-year system; a 900xxxx result is not resolved to 1979 without other era evidence.
Early Japanese Fender-style: seven-digit year
Confirmed early Japanese ST/TE Fender-style seven-digit serial, 1977–1981.
This early year-code rule does not apply to the later four-digit, five-digit or L neck plates that imitate Fender era styling.
Silver Star: continuing seven-digit year,1982–1986
Confirmed Japanese Silver Star / SS with seven-digit serial.
The specialist documents the continued seven-digit system for Silver Star after 1981. The broader Fender-style family alone does not identify a Silver Star.
Japanese Gibson-style: later two-digit year
Confirmed later Japanese Gibson-style impressed seven-digit headstock serial.
The maintained registry describes 89 = 1989, 90 = 1990, 91 = 1991 and 00 = 2000, 01 = 2001 onward. This continues the documented convention; it is not an individual instrument factory record. Old and modern interpretations can overlap.
Japanese Gibson-style: possible 1988 transition
Japanese Gibson-style seven-digit 880xxxx pattern at a disputed transition.
Vintage Japan Guitars lists 880xxxx for 1988; the maintained registry places the two-digit change in 1989. Treat this as a source-dependent 1988 estimate and confirm with features.
Japanese Fender-style: four-digit neck-plate estimate
Confirmed Japanese Fender-style copied-era neck plate, 1982–1986.
These are approximate historical range estimates, not definitive build years. The plate imitates a Fender design era; verify the neck-pocket stamp, pot codes and catalog features. Open-ended 1986 rows are withheld for the four- and five-digit series.
Japanese Fender-style: five-digit neck-plate estimate
Confirmed Japanese Fender-style copied-era neck plate, 1982–1986.
These are approximate historical range estimates, not definitive build years. The plate imitates a Fender design era; verify the neck-pocket stamp, pot codes and catalog features. Open-ended 1986 rows are withheld for the four- and five-digit series.
Japanese Fender-style: L-plus-five-digit neck-plate estimate
Confirmed Japanese Fender-style copied-era neck plate, 1982–1986.
These are approximate historical range estimates, not definitive build years. The plate imitates a Fender design era; verify the neck-pocket stamp, pot codes and catalog features. Open-ended 1986 rows are withheld for the four- and five-digit series.
Later Japanese eight-digit serial: limited 1988–1999 coverage
Confirmed later Japanese eight-digit numeric headstock serial in the era described by the registry.
The maintained registry describes an eight-digit late-1980s and 1990s system with a two-digit year. This is a community guide and requires country and model-family confirmation.
Export CH / C prefix: country clue without date
Confirmed Tokai CH/C-prefixed export instrument.
The maintained registry associates CH/C with China. The digits are not a verified Japanese date code; confirm the country marking and physical features.
Export CN / VN prefix: disputed attribution, no date
Confirmed Tokai CN/VN-prefixed export instrument.
The maintained registry attributes CN/VN to Korean Cor-Tek production but notes disputed CN China attribution. This rule keeps country unresolved and provides no map or date.
Read your result with context
Tokai serial questions
Can the serial identify my exact model?
Most formats provide a period, sequence or production clue. Where a published system encodes a model or model family, the result identifies that association and links to a manual search. You can also enter the separately marked model name.
Why do several years fit?
Some manufacturers reused ranges or year digits. A date range or several candidates are retained when the sources cannot narrow them. A year supplied from your records is labelled as user context.
Does the map locate the exact factory?
The map shows the supported country or geographic area at the precision stated. It does not establish that a historical instrument passed through a particular building.
Can I share this lookup?
After a lookup, use “Copy share link.” The address contains #serial= and any supplied context. Opening it runs the same lookup; POST results are not shared cached query-string pages.
Does an unmatched number mean a counterfeit?
No. Published serial guides have gaps, and replacement components or unusual runs can carry different markings. Authenticity and originality require more evidence than a serial format.