Japanese Musical Instruments - The Shamisen

Kitagawa Utamaro, “Flowers of Edo: Young Woman’s Narrative Chanting to the Samisen”

The shamisen or samisen, also called sangen, is a three-stringed, Japanese musical instrument played with a plectrum called a bachi.

The shamisen had many forms before it arrived to Japan, though it’s unclear where it originated from. It is said that a three stringed lute arrived in China during the later years of the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368). This instrument is called the sanxian. Trade flourished between China and the Ryukyu kingdom (Okinawa). Many instruments were brought over, including their sanxian, now called the Okinawan Sanshin. It is said to have been brought over by merchants from Fukien in 1392, a time when there was considerable immigration from southern China.

The Sanxian

Now we come to it’s arrival to Japan. It’s generally said that the sanshin came to Japan in 1562, in the city of Sakai (a port city south of Osaka). It’s assumed to have come from Okinawa, though with all the trade that was happening with China, direct importation was by no means out of the question. There probably were Chinese sanxian in Japan before 1562, but not in significant enough numbers to start anything. The Okinawan sanshin is what caused the shamisen to be taken up by the Japanese.

Soon after, biwa players took up the sanshin (now called the shamisen) so they could be better heard on the street. And being the first players of the instrument in Japan, they could do what they wanted with it! And do they did.

Kusakabe Kimbei - Geshia Playing Shamisen

The shamisen is a plucked stringed instrument. Its construction follows a model similar to that of a guitar or a banjo, with a neck and strings stretched across a resonating body. The neck of the shamisen is fretless and slimmer than that of a guitar or banjo. The body, called the dō , resembles a drum, having a hollow body that is taut front and back with skin, in the manner of a banjo. The sao, or neck of the shamisen is usually divided into three or four pieces that fit and lock together. Indeed, most shamisen are made so that they can be easily disassembled and stowed to save space. The neck of the shamisen is a singular rod that crosses the drum-like body of the instrument, partially protruding at the other side of the body and there acting as an anchor for the strings. The pegs used to wind the strings are long, thin and hexagonal in shape. They were traditionally fashioned out of ivory, but as it has become a rare resource, they have been recently fashioned out of other materials, such as various kinds of wood and plastic.

The three strings are traditionally made of silk, or, more recently, nylon. Traditionally, silk strings are used. However, silk breaks easily over a short time, so this is reserved for professional performances. Students often use nylon or ‘tetron’ strings, which last longer than silk, and are also less expensive.

Shamisen maker with a customer

The shamisen can be played solo or with other shamisen, in ensembles with other Japanese instruments, with singing such as nagauta, or as an accompaniment to drama, notably kabuki and bunraku. Both men and women traditionally played the shamisen.

The most famous and perhaps most demanding of the narrative styles is gidayū, named after Takemoto Gidayū (1651–1714), who was heavily involved in the bunraku puppet-theater tradition in Osaka. The gidayū shamisen and its plectrum are the largest of the shamisen family, and the singer-narrator is required to speak the roles of the play, as well as to sing all the commentaries on the action. From the 19th century female performers known as onna-jōruri or onna gidayū also carried on this concert tradition.

Two geishas playing the shamisen

Music for the shamisen can be written in Western music notation, but is more often written in tablature notation. While tunings might be similar across genres, the way in which the nodes on the neck of the instrument (called tsubo) are named is not. As a consequence, tablature for each genre is written differently.

Vertical shamisen tablature, read from right to left. Nodes for the 3rd string are indicated by Arabic numerals, for the 2nd string by Chinese numerals, and for the 1st string by Chinese numerals preceded by イ.

The shamisen is played and tuned according to genre. The nomenclature of the nodes in an octave also varies according to genre. In truth, there are myriad styles of Shamisen across Japan, and tunings, tonality and notation vary to some degree. Three of the most commonly recognized tunings across all genres are “honchoshi” (本調子), “ni agari” (二上がり), and “san sagari” (三下がり).

The construction of the shamisen varies in shape and size, depending on the genre in which it is used. The bachi used will also be different according to genre, if it is used at all. Shamisen are classified according to size and genre. There are three basic sizes; hosozao, chuzao and futozao. Examples of shamisen genres include nagauta, jiuta, min’yo, kouta, hauta, shinnai, tokiwazu, kiyomoto, gidayu and tsugaru.

In most genres the shamisen, the strings are plucked with a bachi. The sound of a shamisen is similar in some respects to that of the American banjo, in that the drum-like dō, amplifies the sound of the strings. As in the clawhammer style of American banjo playing, the bachi is often used to strike both string and skin, creating a highly percussive sound. In kouta ( literally “small song”) style shamisen, and occasionally in other genres, the shamisen is plucked with the fingers.

In the early part of the 20th century, blind musicians, including Shirakawa Gunpachirō (1909–1962), Takahashi Chikuzan (1910–1998), and sighted players such as Kida Rinshōei (1911–1979), evolved a new style of playing, based on traditional folk songs (“min’yō”) but involving much improvisation and flashy fingerwork. This style – now known as Tsugaru-jamisen, after the home region of this style in the north of Honshū – continues to be relatively popular in Japan. The virtuosic Tsugaru-jamisen style is sometimes compared to bluegrass banjo.

Kouta (小唄) is the style of song learned by geisha and maiko. Its name literally means “small” or “short song,” which contrasts with the music genre found in bunraku and kabuki, otherwise known as nagauta (long song).

Jiuta (地唄), or literally “earthen music” is a more classical style of shamisen music.

One contemporary shamisen player, Takeharu Kunimoto, plays bluegrass music on the shamisen. Another player using the Tsugaru-jamisen in non-traditional genres is Michihiro Sato, who plays free improvisation on the instrument. Japanese American jazz pianist Glenn Horiuchi played shamisen in his performances and recordings. A duo popular in Japan known as the Yoshida Brothers developed an energetic style of playing heavily influenced by fast aggressive soloing that emphasizes speed and twang; which is usually associated with rock music on the electric guitar. Japanese traditional and jazz musician Hiromitsu Agatsuma incorporates a diverse mix of genres into his music. He arranged several jazz standards and other famous western songs for the shamisen on his latest album, Agatsuma Plays Standards.