Yamaha was founded by Tarakusu Yamaha in 1887, the company was originally named Nippon Gakki S.K.K. Co. but was later renamed to Yamaha in 1916 when Tarakusu passed away. Yamaha was the first piano manufacturer in Japan. You can use the dates and serials listed below to help date your piano. To find your serial number of your piano please see our find your serial number page.

Year SN.
1917 – 1700
1918 – 1800
1919 – 1900
1920 – 2100
1921 – 2650
1922 – 3150
1923 – 3650
1924 – 4250
1925 – 4950
1926 – 5700
1927 – 6500
1928 – 7750
1929 – 8928
1930 – 10163

1931 – 11719
1932 – 13368
1933 – 15182
1934 – 17939
1935 – 19895
1936 – 22397
1937 – 25158
1938 – 28000
1939 – 30000
1940 – 31900
1941 – 33800
1942 – 35600
1943 – 37000
1944 – 38000
1945 – 38550

1946 – 39250
1947 – 40001
1948 – 44087
1949 – 42231
1950 – 44200
1951 – 47767
1952 – 51621
1953 – 54800
1954 – 57000
1955 – 63300
1956 – 70000
1957 – 78000
1958 – 89000
1959 – 103000
1960 – 122000

1961 – 149000
1962 – 188000
1963 – 237000
1964 – 298000
1965 – 368000
1966 – 489000
1967 – 570000
1968 – 689000
1969 – 809000
1970 – 978000
1971 – 1169000
1972 – 1317000
1973 – 1510000
1974 – 1743000
1975 – 1943000

1976 – 2144000
1977 – 2383000
1978 – 2583000
1979 – 2812000
1980 – 3001000
1981 – 3261000
1982 – 3464000
1983 – 3646000
1984 – 3832000
1985 – 3988000
1986 – 4157000
1987 – 4335000
1988 – 4492000
1989 – 4650000
1990 – 4811000

1991 – 4951000
1992 – 5072000
1993 – 5181000
1994 – 5292000
1995 – 5375000
1996 – 5466000
1997 – 5530000
1998 – 5579000
1999 – 5792000
2000 – 5868000
2001 – 5928000
2002 – 5978000
2003 – 6021000
2004 – 6066000
2005 – 6110000

The following dates are for Yamaha grands produced in Indonesia these numbers only apply to the following models GA1E, DGA1E, GB1, DGB1.

Year SN.
2000 – 1700000

2001 – 1800000
2002 – 1900000

2003 – 2000000
2004 – 2100000

2005 – 22000

Example: If the serial number is 16000 then that would make the year 1917