I did a quick Google search in Japanese and found several shops in Shizuoka City and Hamamatsu, and one in Shimada.
Tsuruno ya is located at ４-１９ Sanchome, Shimoda City, Shizuoka (phone: 81 558-22-1933). It wouldn’t hurt to see what they have - you might get a deal.
If your Japanese isn’t so great, you might consider getting your shamisen in Tokyo. The people at Shamisen Katoh, for example, are used to dealing with non-Japanese, and they can help you with deciding things like what kind of skin will work best where you are going to live. Also, if you think you might be back in Japan at some point, but not Shizuoka, then there might be an advantage to buying it in Tokyo as well.
Thanks for your help.
Patrick, I guess my search was too quick - I looked at my post again this morning, and saw “Shimoda” not “Shimada” in the address. At first I thought it was a typo, but living there you probably know that it’s a different town entirely - sorry about that!
If you search, in kanji, “shizuoka wagakki” (Shizuoka japanese musical instruments) you’ll get the shops in Shizuoka City and Hamamatsu that I mentioned.
Gerry, don’t worry. “Daijoubu”. I know Shimada and Shimoda are different towns. I will check Shizuoka, Hamamatsu and Tokyo. Thanks again for being so concerned.
Hi folks, I’m reviving this thread!
I’m going to visit Japan this december (mostly Tokyo area, but also Kyoto, Osaka, Kanazawa, Hiroshima) and I was wondering if anyone could recommend places where I could find notation books to buy? I marked on map few shamisen stores but maybe you know any physical book stores that sell notations? Or any other interesting shamisen related places you can recommend (my plans so far include KIKI’s concert, Yoshida Brother’s concert and KIKKO restaurant)
You can, with relative ease, search for 和楽器 or 三味線 and get decent results. Most shops are going to carry scores and song books in addition to the standard accessories and instruments.
Beyond that general advice, if you’re coming to Hokuriku, you could check out:
Rakuya in Higashi-Iwase (Toyama) (The good people behind the original shabo)
Muramatsuya in Toyama City, or their original, smaller location in Takaoka (Toyama). They also have a branch store in Tokyo. I get a lot of accessories here.
Sekiya in Kanazawa (Ishikawa) (Where I got my first Tsugaru)
Fukushima Sangenten in Kanazawa (Ishikawa) (Open for more than a century)
For more experience based stuff, check Kanazawa sightseeing to see if the Geiko are up to anything in December - but brace for cold. Winter in Hokuriku sometimes gets gnarly early.
In Osaka you might check if Rokudan is still alive. It was a cool tsugaru bar I went to once.
If you like digging through flea markets, Kitano Tenmangu in Kyoto hosts a monthly one (or used to) and I’ve gotten great shamisen stuff there before. Osaka also has one at one of their temples.
Local min’yo/jiuta/shamisen groups will also likely be doing their winter recitals at concert halls and venues. Poking around at shops may give you leads on that too.
Cheers
Christhoper, thank you! I’ll note down your suggestions, though my original question was more about ~book~ stores that might sell wagakki notations, not shamisen stores.
I’ve not encountered score books for shamisen or other wagakki outside of dedicated shops or the chaos of flea markets.
On occasion, I’ve found academic books about history or culture that have included a small sampling of (mostly western) notation - but little to nothing beyond that.
If you were feeling industrious, you could search on amazon or rakuten and then cross reference with brick and mortars. That might turn something up, but I would generally recommend wagakki shops over book stores if you’re after something so specialized.
I’d like to include Murasaki Music on this list:
As far as I know, they don’t have a physical store, but have acquired a good reputation with overseas Shamisen enthusiasts. Plus, their prices are reasonable.
Hi Everyone!
I’m looking to buy my first shamisen while I’m in Tokyo in the next couple weeks.
I’ve been in contact with kameya(e-kameya.com) and I came across ohtsu-kotosangen(okoto.jp) recently. The latter seems to be much cheaper for a karin tsugaru shamisen, but they both belong to the same manufacturer group. Is it safe to assume they sell the same units, or might there be actual quality differences even though they have the same supplier?
Kameya is well known, though their cheap Shamisen are “manufactured” (read: mostly automated fabrication) in China.
Okoto seems to be on the same barge.
The low prices (sub-100k) they practice are not in line with actual handmade Shamisen made in Japan. And for Okoto, there’s the almost invisible headline " 琴・三味線の販売、修理専門" that states they are specialized in sales and repair (nothing mentioned about manufacture).
I’'m not saying a Shamisen made in China it’s not a usable Shamisen, but for me it doesn’t have the “soul” of a handmade piece, nor the durability.
Thanks for all of the information! I’d ideally like one made in Japan as well for the same reason. I came across sites like ezofuji and wagakki-ichiba. They seem to have nicely priced secondhand kouki shamisen. Would these be more likely to be made in Japan?
Ehrm… About MurasakiMusic…
I tried to buy from them and am now in dispute with them. The tracking number provided is a fake and fortunately I did not accept a payment “between friends”, I would have lost almost 400 dollars…
I don’t know if I’m just unlucky or if it’s a scam but be carful!
I will probably never know what happened, but after a few twists and turns, the instrument ordered from Murasakimusic arrived, and in good condition!
We can’t say that he showed the best commercial spirit, but the material is quality!
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A happy ending, yay!
Indeed, Murasaki Music is known for selling great quality shamisen with very good sound. They even offer warranty on the skins, which is something no one else has offered so far.
I have seen, however, some complaints about shipping times, here and on Discord.
So my advice, regardless of the existance of complaints, is to trust the reviews or word-of-mouth recommendations about quality, and always ask about shipping times, and get assurances from the seller on when it will be shipped. From there on, the ball is on Japan Post’s court.
I have bought items inside Japan that took much longer than expected, and have imported things that took longer as well, even small packages from South Korea.
Any seller issues should be looked at and analyzed before deciding for a purchase, but shipping is indeed a b***h everywhere. I’m just glad there’s no porch theft in Japan!
Disclaimer: I do like Murasaki Music, because they help bring affordable Shamisen to people who wouldn’t otherwise get one due to high prices.
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