A while back I visited a local Japanese summer festival and saw a taiko group performing. I thought it would be cool to join them next year and since I love woodworking I decided it would be best to build my own taiko.
I was worried about having a huge odaiko drum laying around so instead I thought “why not build a shamisen? It’s like a taiko but more portable and with strings” So I bought “shamisen of Japan” and the rest is history.
I have a confession: I had been aware that shamisens were a thing that existed for a couple of years, but I developed interest in playing after seeing a video on youtube. It was Mike Penny’s Bed Intruder cover.
It was at least another year plus change before I had the funds and proximity to buy my own shamisen though. Been hooked ever since. 
I was lucky enough to see Noriko Tadano play live at a concert I was performing at with my taiko group. I was even luckier that she was both living in Melbourne and interested in giving lessons. It’s hard not to be inspired…
years ago i had fascination with geisha/geiko and came across the word and looked it up, finding it was explained as a japanese banjo. I was a bit dissapointed, so dug more and found all the music and videos i could.
About 2 years after that i had saved some money and bought a damaged nagauta and in my digging to find out who to send it tofor repair i came across Chords canada and Kyle on youtube. After finding the cost was huge to reskin at the time i sold my shamisen as i had other priorities.
A few years later the longing came back and having made some instruments from kits i looked to see how i could make a shamisen. Up popped Kyle again…and Kevin. Promptly threw away the idea of making and bought several damaged shamisen, Kyles book and spent a LOT of time on the internet till Bachido evolved from Shamisen of Japan, and here i am,still lurking.
How interesting to hear all the stories of your encounter with Shamisen!!!
Here is how it went with me. Luckily I have been in Japan since I was born(except missed Chikuzan’s live concert even though I was always here) and several years ago I went to Hiromitsu Agatsuma’s concert just because my friend asked me to and I happened to have a free time then. It was so good and I began to listen to Tsugaru instrument and decided to start the instrument myself. I found a good teacher near my area two years ago and started to learn.
While looking for my teacher’s play on Utube, I got attracted by Kevin’s play and Monsters of shamisen and such and such and finally came to Bachido site. How could I say, this was a lucky coincidence? Or rather destiny.
From my Profile:
My great grandmother taught shamisen in the Kabuki theatre and to geisha in Fukuoka, so I was familiar with traditional Japanese music, but I truly fell in love with shamisen music last year at Taiko Gathering in Little Tokyo, Los Angeles. They were playing this amazing music over the loudspeakers, so I Shazamed it, and found the Yoshida Brothers. Except for some taiko groups (On Ensemble, Taiko Project), I hadn’t heard too much Eastern and Western fusion before. I loved it!
I bought the album standing right there and downloaded it to my phone. That album has more plays than all of my other albums put together. When I heard that music, I thought then and there that I would like to play shamisen for my taiko group (Togen Daiko, Oxnard CA), but even more for myself. I have a bit of an advantage, I have been a musical comedy performer and a guitar player for cough cough 40 plus years, but I’m new to the shamisen. I’ve been playing about six months now, and I can stumble through Koroishi Yosare Bushi, and Rokudan, and a few others well enough now. I think (hope) I could perform the slower pieces by summer.
Wow, I hope more people post - this is a great thread, thanks for starting it, Gael!
Joseph, that is one of my favorite taiko/shamisen performances, thanks for posting it so I could see it again!
Thanks for sharing guys!
From my profile:
Thank’s to Grant Reimer I got introduced to the world of Shamisen and I immediatly fell in love!
I started playing after I had visited the Hirosaki tournaments 2012 together with Grant Reimer and Kevin Kmetz. I nagged them until I got to borrow Grant’s shamisen and Kevin started teaching. I only meant to stay a week in Aomori, but I wanted to learn more, so I hang around a week longer than planned.
And I was so lucky that I could follow Grant up to Sapporo to meet the coolest shamisen player on earth, Masahiro Nitta and buy my shamisen from him! It was a great experience! So now I have some standards to match. There is some recordings on when Masahiro is playing the same shamisen… need to keep my practice up! 
I played in the Hirosaki tournaments this year, you can find it on the bachido blogcast. Just gonna continue learning!
Wow–great stories! I really like hearing how each person found shamisen and bachido.com! Thanks everyone for sharing your stories! I’m encouraged to continue to someday learn shamisen. I was becoming discouraged. But these stories have lifted my spirits!
Thanks for the post Gael. I’m a newbie too, even though I’m and old coot. Discovered the shamisen online while researching japanese music and instruments. I came across Bachido while looking for components to build one and found Kyle’s awesome guide on Amazon. Just getting started building my shamisen when I finish Christmas woodworking gifts for family. I’ll REALLY be up a creek when I start learning how to play, and will soak up everything I can from folks in here. Enjoying the spirit of this place tremendously.
Regards everybody.
Youtube.
How I actually got a shamisen, much longer story
Here’s maybe even a bit better version of the same piece, I’m sure you’ll enjoy this
My beginnings into shamisen started with my mother-in-law. She is Japanese, from Yokosuka. She used to play shamisen. She hasn’t played for quite some time and is unable to now because of arthritis. So, she gave me her nagauta shamisen. I was honored. It had so many bunkafu notation song books and other shamisen accessories. I was familiar with reading western style music but had not seen bunkafu style before. Now where I live (Alabama) no one has heard of a shamisen before so finding a teacher was impossible. I did an Internet search for shamisen teachers. I came across bachido.com and began there with the basics. I knew that the site was primarily focused on tsugaru style shamisen though, so I continued looking for a nagauta style teacher. I finally found a teacher that is located in Tacoma, WA and she teaches via Skype as well as in person. This worked out perfect for me! So now I am a little over two years in on playing and I love it. I have passed beginner level (10 full nagauta songs) and will be receiving my certificate from the Kine-ie school in Tokyo, Japan.
Youtube.
Figured out it’s Hiromitsu Agatsuma playing, btw.
I always was a music enthusiast and a few years ago I also became a huge Japan geek (I´m even studying Japanology now). So someday in 2014 I searched for “japanese heavy metal” or something on Youtube and stumbled upon Kevins great cover of Metallicas Master of Puppets. I was completely blown away by it. After I looked more in the topic I found several other great Shamisen artists, like the Yoshida Brothers and Takahashi Chikuzan. The Tsugaru style of playing caught me with its energy and passion and I decided I wanted to play this instrument. Following Kevin I found out about Kyle and Bachido and joined right away. The only problem was, that I had no opportunity to buy a shamisen or even find a teacher here in good old Germany. With these problems and graduation etc. going on I stopped pursuing this dream. Now after around 1 1/2 years I started listening to more shamisenmusic again and was again enchanted by this awesome instrument (even if it was Nagauta and Jiuta this time). around a month ago I decided I would join the party here on Bachido again and FINALLY get myself a shamisen. So I ordered a Nagauta-shamisen, which is on its way from Osaka to me right now!
I´m really looking forward to learn and have a great time with you guys here
Hey Gunnar! Thanks for watching my Master of Puppets Shamisen cover. Welcome to the world of Shamisen!
I find great amusement when I hear a song that I think would sound good played on a shamisen, search YouTube for “song title shamisen” and the first result is Kevin playing the song I was looking for on a shamisen. It never fails!
Seriously ? Wow! That’s cool! I take request too so if there’s one that you want to hear that hasn’t been done yet just let me know!
For me, it all started in narita airport back in 2009 when I was just starting my time as an exchange student. I heard the wonderful sound that was shamisen and soon found the yoshida brothers. Couple months go by and I actually gained more interest learning about agatsuma, other players (who I dont know because I cant read their names then or now lol), and of course you kevin! I asked both of my first 2 host families to help me find a place/teacher to learn. Nothing against them but they obviously didnt look very hard considering I was an exchange student in Hirosaki shi 
but it was when I was staying with my 3rd host family when they pulled through and found a someone to teach me (they even payed for the lessons I had with a man by the name of sawada). This was closer to the end of my exchange unfortunately so I didnt get really good but I had learned a couple songs. However there was no way I was going to leave without the biggest souvenir of all, my own shamisen. Noting that this was before bachido therefore I wasn’t to optimistic about being able to get one one I had left. So I used the money that my grandfather was going to give me for college to buy my own shamisen from tada atsushi (http://tsugarushamisen.jp/) lol. Since I have had an on and off again but mostly off relationship with the instrument bringing it with me to every place I have moved.
I’m playing stringed instruments since childhood. In 20 years of classical and Jazz guitar I also had Cello lessons, got Mandoline, Ukulele, Banjo and Charango (peruvian) as well and had a few great years of Tabla lessons (well, not stringed but drums 
). I was also quite fond of japanese culture quite a while e.g. practicing Chado. To combine this I two interests I really wanted to learn Shamisen. So I got an instrument but no teachers in my country could be found. But I was not alone. We built a small group to practice together and invite teachers to Berlin. Now I’m playing for over 2 years, visiting Ichikawa Hibiki in London as often as possible, and having the greatest of times with my group in Berlin with the greatest of guys. (- YouTube)
(- YouTube)