Question: Does the strings rest on the wooden tenjin ridge between the chibukura and the swawari?
it seems from your book kyle that the brass nut is lower then the wooden ridge ridge between the chib/swara? in that case I would guess the strings would touch the wood, and not raise like the nut of a ukulele/guitar?
Thanks
Terry
Hey Terry
As far as I can tell from my Shamisen is that the strings are slightly touching the wood ridge. Doesn’t has an impact on sound, so no bother.
ok, If all three strings touch that ridge, wont all three strings buzz besides the third string? Kyles book is really vague on this matter! or am I missing something?
Are we speaking about a tsugaru shamisen?
Because other shamisen-type (Jiuta i.e.) sport only a metal-bridge for the 2nd and 3rd strings (the medium and thin one).
The 1st ito is indeed touching the wooden ridge here and another, a few mm down the tenjin, which causes the buzzing sound.
On a tsugaru shamisen all 3 strings pass over the kamigoma (metal bridge). The buzzing sound is generated from the sawari (if setup) .
Regardless of whether the strings BEHIND the kamigoma are touching anything; the metal nut is the last and elevated ‘surface/point/pivot’ that…‘releases’ the string for verberation…
well I just came to realize that my english isn’t the best for explaining mechanical physics, sorry 
In Kyle’s book the kagmigoma is indeed set in the outermost position along the sao to the ha no sagari.
Mybe i should post a pic from the tenjin of a Jiuta shamisen for comparison.
Hi Terry,
When the koma is in place, the strings are close to the sawari tani (the ridge), but not actually touching it. (otherwise, it would buzz… and not in the right way )
The height location of the kamigoma (brass nut) depends on the angle of the tenjin to the sao. If the tenjin is pitched up, the string action would be higher and thus the kamigoma would be placed lower to accommodate. In Ale’s case, his kamigoma is quite a bit lower, which would mean that his tenjin is probably angled higher.
If the tenjin is angled downwards, the string action would be lower and thus the kamigoma would be placed higher.
There’s nothing really set in stone on the matter, it’s all dependent on your string action preferences. 
Thanks for clearing this up, Kyle.
Never thought about different angles of the tenjin.
String action depends from kamigoma/koma height in relation to…uhhh all other parts,…right…?..Okay working way too much lately =)
Yes, thanks Kyle for clearing that up for me… back to my shamisen build… I was holding up for that information
Hi!
In my opinion the proper word for 乳袋 is chibukuro, not chibukura with “a”.