Beginner in Japan - looking for advices.

General
#1

Hello Bachido,

Let me introduce myself, my name is Boris, and I currently live in Japan until january 2016.
Last year in France, I began shamisen (tsugaru) lessons with a teacher and I loved it. I took only about 20 hours but had a good feeling playing it and enjoyed the experience. I had to stop in the end because I could not afford buying a shamisen and paying for the lessons at the same time. I then resolved to put a little money on the side in prevision of my passage in Japan.
I am a beginner in both shamisen in general, in the sense that I never played another instrument and am unable to read a partition or a tab, so I come to you all for advices.
I will be in Tokyo from July the 13th on (I am currently in Naha), and would like to seize this opportunity to get myself started in playing shamisen. Here are my questions, though I’m not even sure I’m asking the right ones ! :
What shamisen should I buy as a beginner? I took a few lessons with a tsugaru, but maybe another size/style would be preferable fo a beginner? I it to note that I’d rather avoid aimal made components, like skin. I know it’s more traditionnal, but it makes me a bit unconfortable.
Subsequently, is there any shamisen maker you would recommend in Tokyo area? Or maybe a model directly from the Bachido store? I should note that my Japanese is very basic, so I cannot sustain a complicated and technical conversation in japanese only, the shop would have to have some english capacity if possible.
My budget for a first shamisen would be between 60.000 and 80.000 yens without accessories. Does it sound reasonnable? Also, what accessories should I invest in?
Finally, though I am not “on a budget”, I will not have a lot of money to put in lessons. I did find a few links for lessons in Tokyo, but wishes to have you advice on this, as a recommendation for a good teacher or school. I would like to avoid tourists traps and bad quality schools.

Thank you all in advance for your help, and excuse me for any possible mistake or lack of precision, as English is not my native-tongue.

#2

Hi! I don’t know if someone has answered your question yet. I lived in Japan for many years and started to learn to play Shamisen there.

I would suggest that you find a good shamisen dealer/store near you. Since they do repair and such, they are familiar with reputable shamisen teachers in your area. Some dealers list teachers on the web sites for their store.

Also, you should listen to various styles of shamisen music and pick the style you really like before you invest in a shamisen. You can easily buy the appropriate shamisen later. I bought a used Nagauta shamisen on Japanese eBay and had it re-skinned at a very reasonable cost thinking I would learn Nagauta style, but the only teacher I could find in my area was Minyo. The shamisen still sounded good, but it didn’t have that rich, deep sound of a Minyo shamisen. Eventually I purchased a used Minyo shamisen on Japanese Yahoo auction. (If you try that, don’t get too carried away.)

If you did decide to study Nagauta or Kouta shamisen style, a Tsugaru shamisen wouldn’t really work. That’s like driving a Ferrari at 30 miles an hour all day. Total waste! However, I do know a couple of people who owned a Tsugaru shamisen that played regular non-Tsugaru Minyo style.

You can buy a new beginner shamisen, but you might just be better off by buying a good quality, used shamisen since you are in Japan. There are shamisen dealers that sell “recycled” shamisen. They cost more than eBay and Yahoo, but they usually have been cleaned, resurfaced (kanberi) and re-skinned, all ready to play.

#3

Boris,

If you are looking to play Shamisen without animal skin I must congratulate you because you have chosen the right time to begin on your Shamisen journey. In the past the alternates to animal skin were just cheap plastic that sounded kind of crappy. But today we are seeing the birth and evolution of fibersen technology which is a new thing. basically it is a new synthetic fiber Shamisen skin that sounds Fantastic! I have tried a few fibersen Shamisen and Wow! I even think it sounds “Better” than animal skin! As far as I know this year (2015) has been the breakthrough year for this. But I don’t actually have all the details so I might recommend contacting Masahiro Nitta or Kyle Abbott directly as they are the guys who know much more than me about it.

Also, do you have Skype? If so I can offer you my services as I have been giving Shamisen lessons over Skype for over a year now! Shamisen lessons in English! All materials will be e mailed to you and I can gaurentee you will be getting a much better rate than in Tokyo (private lesson rate etc.)

#4

Thank you both for your answers !
After lidtening to different styles, I think I’m going to stick to Tsugaru, which appeals me more than the other styles.
I have been in contact with Yvonne from this forum. She is living next to me in Tokyo and I will be getting my first used shamisen from her for a modest price. I will need to replace a few pieces and restring it, and will use the help of the e-kamiya shop here in Tokyo for this. Does that sound like a sensible thing to do? Here are some pics of the shamisen in question :





Though it is defeinitely not in mint condition, the price (8500 y) seems correct for the instrument. I’ll have to add price for putting it back into shape, but the total sum would still be reasonnable enough for me.

Later on as I progress, I will eventually go for another tsugaru more in line with my needs/preferences, which I do not yet know.

Kevin, thank you for the offer, I will contact you again when I got a fully functionnal instrument for more details !

#5

Glad to hear you decided to go Tsugaru and found a used shamisen. In the event you want to upgrade later, here is a place in Shimokitazawa: http://www.okoto.jp/shamisen/recycled-products/ . I purchased a couple of instruments from him before.

#6

Does it require reskinning? Looks a bit like the glue is giving way there. This I think would be the major step in bringing it to a working shape.

If you want some advice on how to assess a 2nd hand shamisen, there are some notes on the Bachido store pages even.

Taking it to a shamisen shop would be the obvious step to bring it into working shape.

Also, check what accessories they sell for the Beginner’s shamisen. Basically you need all the same (for tsugaru) - the major difference is the sawari mechanism which is not the same as on nagauta. Although, the shop would sell you all of them anyway if you bring it to them telliing you want to play it and are missing a few parts.

#7

June : On the Otoko store, most recycled shamisens are much more expensive than new ones? Is it due to the quality of the instruments to begin with, or am I misreading the store?
Yatagarasu : It will need reskinning or regluing, it’s pretty sure. I’m going to bring it to e-kameya soon after buying it (on the 20th).
Basically I will need strings, one itomaki, a koma, a bachi, a doukake and a tuner, I think. I’ll be taking the store advices on how to proceed with this instrument.

#8

There are many things that contribute to the price of a shamisen.

The wood used (花林, 紫檀, or 紅木); whether the body of the shamisen have grooves or double grooves carved inside (綾杉or 子持ち綾杉); the sao has silver or gold inlays in the joints (金ほぞ); whether the joints have one groove or double groove (二本溝); and whether the itomaki is wood or ivory (象牙).

Once the shamisen has the basic components to give it a quality sound, it is a matter of aesthetics. The wood pattern on the sao adds greatly to the price of the shamisen.

If you look through these web pages, you can see what some of the parts:
www.shamisen.ne.jp/shamisen_life/shamisen-kiso.html
www.shamisen.ne.jp/shamisen_life/shop/ranking.htm
http://ameblo.jp/nakatsuiza/entry-11473710380.html

The Okoto.jp website lists mostly top of the line shamisen Mr. Otsu carries. He always has more modestly priced recycled shamisen. The Tsugaru Shamisen my brother bought was around $2,500 at the time.

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