wow, what a cool mom!!!
we'd be glad to help if we can. You should indeed be able to find a bridge that works, possibly locally if you have good music stores areound with guitar parts. If not, they're available online.
You can see what the original bridge looked like in these pics of my Skylark:
http://www.matsumoku.org/ggboard/viewtopic.php?t=1467(I think you saw that already)
The tuners should be easy to replace with standard aftermarket tuners (you want 3x3 tuners, which are made for 3 on either side of the headstock). Older tuners used small holes, but these should be standard modern size.
The bridge is what you'd call a 'hardtail strat bridge' or a 'string-through hardtail strat bridge'. Hardtail means it's screwed directly to the body of the guitar (instead of being on a pivot with a tremolo arm- the famous whammy bar which is so useless so much of the time). Strat refers to the Fender Stratocaster, a classic guitar, but this kind of bridge has been used on many many other guitars too- mainly it means there's a saddle for each string to allow for height adjustments. String-through means the strings go through the bridge and are anchored on ferrules in the body (the six little tube holes on the back)
Here's a couple examples from online sources. they vary, but you get the idea:
http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Bridges,_ta ... ridge.html
http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Bridges,_ta ... ridge.html
http://www.guitarpartsresource.com/bridge2.jpg
http://www.guitarpartsresource.com/gbri ... tstrat.htm
the only issue I see is that the Skylark may have a narrower width than standard Fenders used- it's an issue of American guitars with English measurements and Japanese guitars with metric- there's usually about 1/8" difference. My guess is that your Skylark will need 'import style' spacing rather than 'US style' spacing. I'll measure my Skylark tonight and give you an exact dimension, but my guess is the narrow ones will fit your Skylark better:
http://www.warmoth.com/hardware/bridges ... rrow_strat
You can find the best deals online, but that may not be quick enough for you. Check these out:
http://cgi.ebay.com/Top-Mount-Hardtail- ... dZViewItem
http://cgi.ebay.com/GOLD-Hardtail-Elect ... dZViewItem
That last one is nice because it gives exact dimensions, which is what you need for a fit. Also, try an ebay search for the words 'gold hardtail strat bridge' and you'll find more options.
These repairs are something you should be able to do yourself if you're handy with a screwdriver. Let us know how it goes, we'd be glad to help with technical stuff.
BTW, as you have guessed, the Skylark is not only a great guitar, but quite rare. It does, however, have a rather chunky neck (like an acoustic steel guitar) and I would wonder if your son's hands are big enough to deal with it. The string action can be adjusted so it is low and easy to finger, but it's something to consider.
He'll need an amplifier sooner or later; I'd highly recommend the Roland Microcube, which is small, can run on batteries, is relatively cheap and sounds GREAT!
http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/ ... sku=480196 Another excellent (and cheaper) option is a headphone amp- I really like this one that Guitar Center sells:
http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/ ... sku=151703 It's really nice to be able to practice with headphones on without bothering anybody.
Keep us posted! Let us know how it goes! You'll find that the Skylark, like other Matsumoku guitars, was made with not only high quality, but a lot of soul, and players of these guitars are really fanatic about them. The community here is really passionate about these guitars and always ready to help out people who care about them.