The Shamisen, Japan’s three stringed spiked lute, is one of the post popular stringed instruments (if not the most popular one) to come out of Japan, due in part to the music that has come from virtuoso players such as (Takahashi Chikuzan, Agatsuma, Shinichi Kinoshita, Hanwa Chie, Kiki, and The Yoshida Brothers) in the last several years.

Shamisen has its origins perhaps in Central Asia, coming to China and eventually to the Ryukyu Islands (present day Okinawa) and finally to Japan proper via Osaka, sometime in the 16th century. Various genres emerged including jiuta, nagauta, gidayu, and minyou, which all use a specific size of shamisen for their music. It wasn’t until the early 20th century that the shamisen reached its largest and loudest size which  also coincided with the flowering of the solo music of the Tsugaru Shamisen, which is the style I focus on.

Although I live on the Sunshine Coast of BC, I often travel in to Vancouver to give private shamisen tutoring sessions for beginners who wish to try out what shamisen is all about. Please contact me for more information and to set up a meeting time.  Come and join me in experiencing the beauty of Tsugaru Shamisen!