みなさん、こんばんは
Japanese guy here learning the shamisen for the first time! Just curious, does everyone assemble and disassemble their shamisen every time? Isn’t it safer to keep it assembled until it needs to be disassembled (especially if where you are is fairly dry)?
Thanks!
Hi and welcome!
I don’t think anyone does that. The only thing we’ve been discussing here is that you remove the koma when you are done playing, to lessen the pressure on the skin and the strings.
Hello Rio. Welcome to Bachido! 
Disassembly after every session is not necessary. If your shamisen is in a safe place, it’s completely safe assembled.
Actually, I think it’s like passing a car on the highway: It’s still safe, but each time you pass a car, there’s always the risk that something bad will happen. That’s why excessive lane changing and passing was discouraged in my Drivers Test (In California at least. Not that it stops anyone from doing so 
). Likewise, the shamisen is just as safe assembled as well as disassembled, but I think continually doing so wears out the joints, and potentially risks a tiny sliver of wood splintering off from the top of the sao. (The latter is a personal experience. Sorry Grant!)
I think the only time it needs to be taken apart is if you are wanting to transport it in a mitsuori case.
As Karl says, the koma is the thing to remove every time.
Thanks so much Kyle! I’m really enjoying your videos and blogcasts!
Thanks Rio! I’m glad you’ve been enjoying them! They are fun to make.
Where are you from, btw?
Welcome to the form Rio
I guess it depends on the person. Not to stereotype or anything but I have noticed all the foreign players I know seem to think the obvious thing to do is assemble it and then put it in a large case until a day of travel comes. And even then, it’s really only during airplane travel that it is absolutely nessecary to break it down to mitsuori in order to carry it onto the plane. For example of I am going somewhere by train I always just stick it in a long case and go.
In contrast to this I have noticed that many many Japanese Shamisen players just seem to “think” differently about it. I have witnessed players come to a gig, assemble their instrument, play the gig, disassemble it and then go home on many occasions.
Also at the taikais (tournaments) a large percentage always seem to take the same approach. They show up in the morning with their Mistuori cases, assemble, play the tournament and disassemble after they are done.
I don’t know exactly why this is , but a good theory might be that Japanese society is very closely knit in the sense that if “everyone” is doing something a certain way everyone else tends to just go along with it. I think a lot of players might just see other people disassembling theirs all the time so they get it in their heads that being a Shamisen player simply means daily assembling and disassembling .
I own a mitsu ori shamisen. I go to great lengths avoiding taking it apart unless I am getting on an airplane.
However, you really need to make sure you put your bridge away and wrap your Shamisen up in a bag or at least protect the dou/skin from heat/cold/moisture.
I can’t really add any more that Kyle and Kevin didn’t already say. Long cases are much better for traveling, and you don’t have to tune the whole thing back up again every time you want to play it.