In 1963, Aria began exporting electric guitars for the first time with its models 1532T and 1802T. In 1958, when he began exporting Japanese-built acoustic guitars to South East Asia, the name 'Aria' was used instead of his surname 'Arai.' The word 'Aria,' besides being a play on letters with the founder's name, means 'expressive melody.' He began importing classical guitars, strings, and sheet music to meet demand, and he founded ARAI & CO., INC., the entity responsible for the first guitar imports into post-WWII Japan.
Shiro began teaching classical guitar lessons to make ends meet, and as demand for classical guitar grew in Japan in a market that had very few classical guitar resources, Shiro saw an opportunity. However, he still had his guitar, which became his lifeline. In 1953, Shiro started a trading firm, but when it failed a year later, he found himself homeless and burdened by many debts. He bought his own the next day, which cost two months worth of pay, and he became a skilled self-taught classical guitarist. His friend brought home a classical guitar, and Shiro, not expecting such an instrument, was stunned by its sound.
As Aria notes on its official website, the story of the Aria guitar begins in Japan in 1940s in an apartment where a man named Shiro Arai lived.
