Hi!
Can you help me, please? I’d like to make a Gidayu shamisen. But I’m afraid I cannot start until I know a little bit more about the dimensions of the dou. I know it’s a bit smaller than Tsugaru 197mm x 212mm), but bigger than Nagauta (175mm x 194mm). I know that the sao (neck) of Gidayu is futozao.
Thank you in advance!
Hi there.
According to Kameya’s website. A Gidayu Shamisen’s body is slightly smaller - in the picture on the blog post it’s described as a Ni Bu Dai. It further says that a good number of the gidayu instruments in their shop are San Bu Dai.
For reference, a typical Tsugaru Shamisen is Go Bu Dai - although slightly larger and slightly smaller examples do exist.
For conversions of that into mm/cm you can search my post history. I believe I have a break down of all the different sizes. If you cannot find that post, you can extrapolate your own data by finding the dimensions of a nagauta and then scaling it up by 2 to 3 bu (using the classical japanese measuring system).
The post also notes that the gidayu is a bit rounder and that the skinning is, of course, not as far down.
Cheers
Hi CristopherBrown,
Thank you very much for very nice and detailed answer. It helps me a lot.