But after the war they were split up into the Suzuki Violin Company (now Kiso Suzuki Violin Company) and Suzuki Violin Manufacturing Company (now Nagoya Suzuki Violin Company). They were one company before the 2nd World War. Masakichi's original company was eventually split into two: Kiso Suzuki and Nagoya Suzuki. Nagoya became the manufacturing center of string musical instruments. By 1910, his factory was producing 65,800 violins per year.
He founded the Suzuki Violin Factory in 1900. In the 1880s, he started to manually produce and sell violins. In the push for westernization in Meiji, he naturally became interested in shamisen's western counterpart: the violin. Masakichi succeeded his father's craft business that soon failed. His father was a samurai moonlighter and made shamisens in Nagoya.
'Masakichi Suzuki was Japan's first violin producer. The production of guitars by the original SuzukI factory seems to have started,in the early 1900's. 1887' but that date has to do with the the original Masakichi-led company and it's production of violins. Their guitars have printed on the label 'est.
