In 1962, The Ventures toured Japan for the first time and inspired a new musical genre in Japan called “Eleki”. So many teenagers started playing electric guitar that manufacturers couldn’t keep up with the demand. Takeshi Terauchi stood out from all those new electric guitarists and he’s probably the first japanese guitar hero. Even though his music is Ventures-influenced, he’s more acrobatic with an agressive picking style and a liberal use of his guitar’s whammy bar. Better yet, he applied surf guitar arrangements to ancient Japanese tunes usually played on the shamisen.

Terry Terauchi & The Bunnys: Kanjincho

Takeshi Terauchi’s MP3s:
Seichô Takeuchi-Bushi (see left cover above)
Let’s Go Classics (right cover), Terauchi’s surf versions of classical themes!

Another great guitarist of the Eleki scene is Yuzo Kayama.