Yanagisawa Wind Instruments is a Japanese woodwind company known for its range of professional grade saxophones. Along with Yamaha they are one of the leading manufacturers of saxophones in Japan. A family company, they started production in 1896 but became more widely known after the release in 1954 of their T3 silver-plated tenor saxophone. This was followed in 1956 by the A3, their first alto saxophone.