I just wondered if a particular koma is needed to play minyou. I couldn’t find it in Gerry’s thesis. I know a shuuzao shamisen is generally used (but in this case with an azuma sawari) , a bigger bachi too, but nothing about the koma. Does a nagauta koma fits ? (This post was already in the wrong place in another topic so I prefer to start a new topic. Thanks)
I don’t believe a particular koma is required at all no. Although certain tunings for certain songs will sound better, there may be a slight variation to the flavour of sound you get using particular koma’s. Which in turn may produce a more particular flavour you may like better for playing minyou or another style.
I play a minyou shamisen, with azuma sawari and a 9 inch bekkou/bisonhorn bachi. I use a birch stick koma I made.
I find my sound I get from my shamisen to be the most interesting and nicest sounding I have ever heard. I get an interesting double buzz effect one from near my koma and the other from the sawari. I will record this for people to hear at some point.
But as I said, no particular koma is needed to play at all 
I am in full support of making your own from a twig outside your door. Nobody will ever know how it will sound unless you give it a try.
Please correct me if i’m wrong I would love to hear your imput
Thanks Cana. As there are particular komas fot Tsugaru, Nagauta, Kouta, Gidayu or Juita, I thought there was a typical one for Minyou. Furthermore, I am willing to try experiments and agree with your approach, but that was not the intention of my question…
No problem, Very true that there are particular komas for each of those. Based on this paragraph on wikipedia. “Tsugaru/Min’yo Koma
Heights Used:2.6, sometimes 2.7, and 2.8 Tsugaru Koma are very easily identifiable due to their unique structure and use of two different materials. Tsugaru Koma are very thin in width, and are not very high. The base is usually made of either bamboo, smoked bamboo, or a wood of some kind, while the top half in which the strings pass through can be made of ivory, bone, or tortoiseshell. Because of the thickness of both the strings and neck of the Futozao shamisen, the Tsugaru bridge in general tends to be longer than the others. One should note not to confuse a Gidayu (Highest Koma made, fashioned out of black buffalo horn) or Kiyomoto koma (looks exactly like Nagauta koma but is much wider at the base) with Tsugaru.” Based on this bit of info Tsugaru and Minyo koma are the same, or atleast similar enough to be put in the same paragraph~
hope this helps more
That helps of course, Cana. Thanks again.
Sorry Gerry, in addition to the advices of Cana and Kyle, I looked again and I found the answer in your thesis… keisotsu deshita…
Wow, this was an informative article. I don’t know if it would specifically answer Patrick’s question, but it is one of the best articles I’ve seen. Good general coverage of everything. Nicely graphically presented as well … And, of course, they mention Kevin at the end, WTG, Kevin!
Whoa! Apperantely Kevin and his band are based in Santa Cruz! I gotta try to find him! 
Yeah, that article is riddled with little inaccuracies - too many to go into, but all over the place. for example Min’yo doesn’t use a futzao shamisen, and the music of the bunraku puppet theatre’s is gidayu, not nagauta. They seem picky from a distance, but not to people who make this music. This is exactly why I tell students never to use wiki-anything as a source in assignments.
Ahhh, thanks, Gerry! Good to know! I didn’t even see that that was a Wiki article, hahaha, I was too busy looking at the purty peechurs!
You know, what though, I was thinking …? We really should write in and correct it … That’s what Wiki is all about, isn’t it?