The shamisen or samisen (三味線, literally "three strings"), also called sangen (三絃, literally "three strings"), is a three-stringed, Japanese musical instrument played with a plectrum called a bachi.
The Japanese pronunciation is usually "shamisen" but sometimes "jamisen" when used as a suffix (e.g., Tsugaru-jamisen).[1] (In western Japan, and often in Edo-period sources, it is sometimes "samisen.")
The shamisen is a plucked stringed instrument. Its construction follows a model similar to that of a guitar or a banjo, employing a neck, and strings stretched across a resonating body. The neck of the shamisen is fretless, and is slimmer than that of a guitar or banjo. The body, called the dō (胴), resembles a drum, having a hollow body that is taut front and back with skin, in the manner of a banjo.
Student shamisens often use dog skin, and sometimes plastic, as they are
cheaper to replace, and more durable. The shamisens of professional
players are often taut in cat skin, as it is more delicate and
expensive. It is said that the best sound quality is produced from a
shamisen bound in cat skin. On the skin of
some of the best shamisen, the position of the cat's nipples can still
be seen.[2]
In the past a special type of paper was used
and recently various types of plastics are being tried.
There are three basic sizes of shamisen; hosozao, chuzao and futozao.
The sanshin (三線, literally "three strings") is an Okinawan musical instrument and precursor of the Japanese shamisen. Often likened to a banjo, it consists of a snakeskin-covered body, neck and three strings.
Its close resemblance in both appearance and name to the Chinese sanxian suggests its Chinese origins, the old Ryūkyū Kingdom
(Okinawa) having very close ties with China. In the 16th
century, the sanshin reached the Japanese trading port at Sakai in Osaka, Japan. In mainland Japan, it evolved into the larger shamisen.
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