Koetsu's Urushi generator in a rosewood body finished in Tsugaru urushi lacquer.
The Urushi Tsugaru is part of Koetsu's Urushi family. Urushi is a traditional Japanese lacquer made from the sap of the urushi tree and applied by hand by skilled artisans. As it cures it hardens around the rosewood body and changes the body's resonant behavior, and Koetsu notes that many listeners find the Urushi models more lively and exciting than the plain Rosewood cartridges. Every Urushi uses silver-clad, ultra-high-purity copper coils, a Permendur magnet assembly and a boron cantilever. Stereophile notes that the Tsugaru, Wajima and Sky Blue are internally identical; they differ in the hand-applied lacquer finish, and the Tsugaru takes its name from its Tsugaru-style urushi. Koetsu was founded by Yoshiaki Sugano and carried on by his son Fumihiko; after Fumihiko's death in 2023 the brand was revived in 2025, with the original craftsmen and suppliers again building the cartridges by hand in Japan.
The Urushi Tsugaru hasn't been reviewed on its own, but its closest relatives have. Stereophile's 2026 look at the revived Koetsu line found the lower-output Urushi Vermillion transparent, fast and immersive, and HiFi News heard the classic Koetsu warmth and body in the midrange and bass with a wide-open presentation. At 0.4 mV and 9.37 g, the Urushi Tsugaru works well in a medium-mass tonearm with a quiet MC phono stage of about 60 dB gain or more, or a step-up transformer. Start with a load of around 100 Ω and adjust by ear within Koetsu's 75–500 Ω range.
| Type | Low-output moving coil (MC) |
| Output | 0.4 mV |
| Recommended load | 75–500 Ω |
| Tracking force | 1.8–2.0 g |
| Weight | 9.37 g |
| Body | Rosewood, Tsugaru-style urushi lacquer |
| Coils | Silver-plated high-purity copper |
| Magnet | Permendur |
| Cantilever | Boron |
| Also available | Urushi Black and Wajima share this generator; Urushi Vermillion (0.2 mV) uses a different coil |
Pearl Audio is an authorized Koetsu dealer. Call or visit our Portland showroom to talk about matching a cartridge to your tonearm and phono stage.
