Dou sizes (and doukake problems)

Building/Repair
#1

Hey all!

I’m back again with another shamisen-related problem :stuck_out_tongue: My new nagauta shamisen has been sitting in my room, partially abandoned, as I travelled around Japan. I just got back today, and I’ve just finished assembling it. It came with everything except for a doukake. I thought that it wouldn’t be a problem, since my last nagauta shamisen came with extra doukakes. But to my huge surprise, none of the spares fit. It’s not a minor sizing variation that can be fixed with a bit of gentle force - the doukakes are significantly smaller than the dou of my new nagauta. The dou of my new nagauta is a few millimetres longer and almost a centimetre thicker than my that of my old nagauta.

I’ve done a bit of reading and have acquainted myself somewhat with 部大 sizes (五厘, 二分大 etc, although I honestly am still not sure which one my new nagauta falls under - a bit of help would be appreciated). But 部大 sizes don’t address the thickness issue - why does the height (when laid flat) of my new nagauta’s dou differ so much from that of my old nagauta’s dou? And what search terms do I enter to find an appropriate doukake for my new nagauta?

(Amateur) Measurements of my new nagauta’s dou:

Top to bottom: 19.7cm
Left to right: 17.8cm
Thickness: 8.8cm [approximately - I’m not sure whether to measure this as a straight line (aka height) or to follow the curvature]

If anyone has any ideas on where I could get more information on this, I would greatly appreciate it! I know that dous’ lengths and widths are more or less standardized, but does anyone else’s shamisens have such large variations in dou thickness?

Cheers,
Yvonne

P.S. I’m calling both old and new shamisens ‘nagauta’ since they both have the trademark curving hatomune, but if I’m mistaken and my new shamisen isn’t a nagauta shamisen, do let me know!

#2

Hi Yvonne, I wonder, would you consider making your own doukake? Kyle’s book Shamisen of Japan explains it clearly. The main gist (and how I make mine) is that you wrap your dou with a number of layers of plastic food wrap (saran wrap is what we always called it) so that it is protected from moisture. Then you wrap the part where the doukake sits with multiple layers of paper soaked in white glue. I myself thin the glue down a bit with water. You don’t have to be precise on the edges as you can cut this down when it is dried. When I have the layers of paper laid down I then wrap plastic wrap around it again and let it settle down tight like. I find that after a few hours it help to take that last layer of wrap off to let it dry faster. At that point, when it is dried you basically trim it to size and then glue on a beautiful outer layer. This can be a number of materials… paper, cloth etc. There’s more to it still but that’s the idea. You get a doukake that fits perfectly and also can express your own creative self. It’s not too difficult. And it’s not expensive to do so you can have a few tries at it until it’s perfect!

Here’s the second one I ever made. I used a really nice mulberry paper that has red and black lacquer layered over in a pattern.

2 Likes
#3

Hey Catherine!

Thanks a lot for your reply and those detailed instructions :smiley: Your doukake is beautiful! I’ll definitely make my own doukake if nothing else works, but I’m not the most artistically inclined, which means I’ll probably end up stabbing through my shamisen’s skin with a pair of scissors SOMEHOW. (There’s actually a precedent. I sliced right through my newly bought kimono while trying to cut the shipping box open, so…yeah). For now, I’m going to make a trip to Kameya and physically lug my shamisen over so that I can test the doukake sizing before I buy~

The size difference is still very puzzling, though. Does anyone know if there’s proper terminology with somewhat standardized listings for dou thickness, similar to how 部大 shows differences in length and breadth for nagauta, jiuta and tsugaru? And does anyone else’s store-bought shamisens of the same genre have such a large discrepancy?

Cheers,
Yvonne

#4

Hi Yvonne. I’m not a specialist but even for your new nagauta the thickness seems very thin. What about the old one ? Regarding Gerry’s thesis (the bible for most of us here) the nagauta thickness is more than 9 cm ! Could it be those ancient very thin hosozaos played by the geishas in the last century ?

#5

Hey Patrick!

Well, Gerry’s thesis is not clear on whether the thickness is measured by taking a straight line from top to bottom (when laid flat) or along the curvature, so if it’s the latter then the mystery is solved.

For my old nagauta, the straight line measurement yields 8.6cm; if I measure along the curve, it yields 9.3cm. The sao width is 2.4cm.

For my newer nagauta, the straight line measurement yields 8.9cm and 9.7cm along the curve. The sao width is 2.6cm.

(Disclaimer: These are all amateur measurements!)

The older nagauta came to me with almost no seller information, so I have no idea what its origins are. Its skin is extremely yellow though, so I’m guessing that it’s pretty aged. I have noticed that the older nagauta is smaller than all my school’s nagautas, though! I’m a pretty tiny person with small hands so my old nagauta fit me perfectly - I remember thinking one day while at practice in school that the school’s nagautas now felt so very clunky :stuck_out_tongue: I’m playing the jituta at school with chuzaos as well - don’t get me started on how huge those are, haha.

Of course I’ll have to get used to my newer nagauta one day, but personally I kinda favour my cheaper old one more right now. ^^; It feels more right in my hands.

#6

Hola Yvonne and welcome to the forum from a fellow shamisen rather than craftsmanship enthusiast :slight_smile:

Yesterday I super glued the on off switch of my improvised electric nagauta shamisen to some wood inside the dou and after letting it dry up I found the switch was no switch anymore after some glue had leaked into the switch and the functionality of it so I cursed and cried for a while . . . surprisingly replacing the switch including soldering done by my very self did for some very lucky reason work out today :slight_smile:

#7

Sorry this is off topic but I have to say it. Hot damn! Catherine. That’s one nice looking doukake.

#8

Hey all!

Small update: I popped over to Kameya and they said that my new nagauta is regular size, while the old one is tinier because it’s really old and was made before the craftsmen standardized their sizes. So Patrick’s guess is pretty close!

#9

A shame you ruined your kimono. :frowning: If it is not repairable, maybe you could use the material for your doukake? I have looked for a while for a doukake that I liked and was disappointed with the selection available. So I am making my own as well.

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