Traditional japanese instruments

From J-pop to the more traditional, a lot of interesting music comes out of Japan. This once-enigmatic nation chronicles its history through its music. Here are four unique Japanese instruments for your next song. 1. Shamisen This lute-like instrument has three strings. It is played by pluck the strings with ginkgo leaf-shaped plectrum. Because the shamisen […]

The Shamisen or Samisen (三味線, literally means; "three flavor strings"), is a three-stringed, Japanese musical instrument played with a plectrum called a bachi. All Maiko are taught in playing a multitude of traditional songs and tunes. The Japanese pronunciation is usually "shamisen" but sometimes "jamisen" when used as a suffix (e.g., Tsugaru-jamisen). (In western Japan, and often in Edo-period sources, it is sometimes "samisen.") The shamisen is a plucked stringed instrument. Its…

~ Koto 箏

Do you like traditional Japanese music? The shamisen is a traditional Japanese instrument that has three strings, and is played with a large plectrum.

In doing some research on the Shamisen, I stumbled onto the Koto and was suddenly reminded that this instrument (and it’s cousins) are largely and undeniably associated with Asian culture. …

The Shakuhachi flute is a traditional Japanese instrument imported from China. It once served as an instrument in a court orchestra providing melodies for the emperor and aristocrats in Japan until it eventually became an instrument of spiritual practice by low class priests. At a certain period in time, it also accompanied the koto and shamisen in Bunraku plays. (H. Nguyen)

Geisha Hands is my third novel, a historical fiction about the life of a maiko on the verge of her erikae (becoming a geisha). It takes place during the Meiji Period. This novel is unique in that…