The shamisen

The shamisen is a kind of lute whith a sound box which come from China where it was made with snake's skin. It arrived in Japan in the island of Ryûkû where he's transformed in 1560 and made with cat skin or dog skin for the less expensive model. Around 1562, the instrument was introduced into Japan by trade ships. At that time, the instrument entered into two geographical areas, in Kansai, in the cities of Sakai and Osaka and in the port of Hakata in Kyushu. In Kyushu, the instrument was played by blind priests.

The Shamisen is an instrument for accompagny the song, whith a narrative or a melodic use. The shamisen became an indispensable part of kabuki (kind of japanese music) and of almost all music in the Edo period.

It exists different kind of shamisen which the three most famous are:

• Niagari


• Honchôshi


• Sansagari