{"id":1342,"date":"2023-01-30T22:51:37","date_gmt":"2023-01-30T22:51:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.handmadesound.com\/shamisen-storia-caratteristiche-suono-e-come-si-suona\/"},"modified":"2025-01-02T10:14:20","modified_gmt":"2025-01-02T10:14:20","slug":"shamisen-history-characteristics-sound","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.handmadesound.com\/en\/shamisen-history-characteristics-sound\/","title":{"rendered":"Shamisen: History, Characteristics, Sound, and How to Play"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The shamisen<\/strong>, also known as the three-stringed samisen<\/strong>, is a chordophone<\/em> belonging to the lute family, as described in lute<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Its origins can be traced to Western Asia. Some historical sources indicate that it was imported from China to Japan. The shamisen<\/strong> is derived from another Asian instrument, also popular in China, which was known as sangen<\/em> in Japanese and san xian<\/em> in Chinese, and was widely used during the Yuan period.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The original instrument, the san xian<\/em>, had a small round soundbox<\/strong> covered with snake skin. The neck<\/strong>, particularly long, held three strings<\/strong>. The sound was produced by plucking<\/strong> the strings with the fingers. It was mainly used for theater music and folk dance accompaniment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the end of the 1300s AD, the san xian<\/em> was exported to the Ry\u00fbky\u00fb<\/em> islands, which are now known as Okinawa<\/em>. This kingdom had a strong musical tradition, both at court and in the popular culture. In this context, the san xian<\/em> was known as sanshin<\/em>, while retaining its original characteristics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

During this period, the instrument gained much popularity in both court music<\/strong> and popular music<\/strong>. This led to a musical tradition that has been passed down to the present day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the end of the Muromachi<\/em> period, the sanshin<\/em> arrived in Japan. Initially, it was called jabisen, meaning snake-skin string instrument<\/strong>. Some modifications to the instrument led to a name change, and it became the shamisen<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The two instruments, shamisen<\/strong> and sanshin<\/strong>, have significant differences. First, the shape changed. The Japanese instrument has a square-shaped soundbox, and the shamisen<\/strong> is much larger than the sanshin<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The skins used for covering the soundboxes are also different. In the sanshin<\/em>, snake skin was used, while the shamisen<\/strong> uses dog or cat skin. Lastly, the way the instruments are played differs. For the sanshin<\/em>, a small pick made of buffalo horn was used, while for the shamisen<\/strong>, a wooden pick called bachi<\/em> is used. It is believed that the bachi<\/em> was introduced in analogy with the biwa<\/em>. In fact, the first musicians to play the shamisen<\/strong> were likely biwa<\/strong> players, known as traveling musicians<\/strong>. This connection suggests that the shamisen<\/em> adopted the bachi<\/em> to produce the sawari<\/em>, an acoustic feature typical of the biwa<\/em> and not present in the sanshin<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite its Japanese origin and its relatively late spread, the shamisen<\/strong> has enjoyed immense success in both classical and popular music. Today, it can be considered the most well-known and important instrument in Japanese musical tradition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In particular, it plays a crucial role in the following styles: j\u00f4ruri<\/em>, nagauta<\/em>, and jiuta<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Buy a Shamisen<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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Table of Contents<\/p>\n<\/span><\/div>\n