Music for Kokyu Shamisen?

Playing/Techniques
#1

I purchased a used Kokyu Shamisen from Japan. It is in great condition as far as I can tell. It is small and very cute.

20211214_153604
20211214_1536042016×1512 760 KB

I am not sure which itomaki is for which hole. One of them has two holes for strings:

20211214_153127
20211214_1531273024×4032 2.57 MB
20211214_153143
20211214_1531433024×4032 1.9 MB

Maybe I will make larger itomaki for this Kokyu

I would like to use this Kokyu as a guide in making a children’s shamisen for about a 3 or 4 year old… I probably will need to make some modifications to the neck shape when making a children’s shamisen.

Any advice on finding music and online videos that teach how to play a Kokyu with a bow?
Given that I now own a Kokyu I should learn the basics of how to play it so I can also show my granddaughter.

I found these three books available for purchase:

https://item.rakuten.co.jp/shamisen/s03102004/?s-id=step0_pc_itemname
https://item.rakuten.co.jp/shamisen/s03102005/?s-id=step0_pc_itemname
https://item.rakuten.co.jp/shamisen/s03102006/?s-id=step0_pc_itemname

music books
music books831×924 204 KB

Any other music book or video recommendations for learning to play Kokyu?

I would also like to find a case for it when fully assembled that will also hold the bow…

#2

I have the first and third book from Rakuya! The green one has a bit of everything: classics, christmas carols, a few jpop and anime songs, while the yellow one has more anime songs than the green (Demon Slayer, Ghibli). They both have a page near the front that teaches tuning and holding the bow. They’re pretty basic stuff but I definitely needed them since there is such limited resources. I totally recommend, and if you’re not really into anime songs, just the green one should suffice. The green and white one focuses moreso on the Owara bushi song itself? I don’t know much about the contents but it’s definitely more focused on what the kokyu is played for during festivals in Japan.

Rakuya’s kokyu player has her own youtube channel here:


You can watch her play some of the pieces in the books on her channel~

Regarding your itomaki, I’m not sure why one has 2 holes- all of mine just has one so I wonder if the 2nd hole was a DIY project by someone ^^;

If you don’t plan on travelling around with it in tow, I recommend getting a stand instead of a case. There are some where you can place the bow on as well and it looks super elegant on display.

#3

Thanks much Rennya for your comments and suggestions. Can you tell me how many pages are in the two books you you have? I am thinking of buying all three, but the shipping from Japan can be expensive. Thanks for the Youtube link. Do you have a picture of the kind of stand that you recommend?

© 2020 Kyle Abbott