Well the thing was, I was under the impression the project had to be done by today, so we just got the pegs to fit in the tenjin. However, there was a calendar issue and it actually isn’t due until wednesday. Now that we have done enough to get it functioning, we can make it nicer (slim the itomaki, more work on the saruo, etc.)
Well, it’s still very cool that you took on the project with such a short time frame. 
And still cool that you have more time to get it nicer.
Strive on!
indeed, it’s looking pretty awesome. Really impressive for such a short time and I’m dying to see the final thing, especially now that you’ve got some time for polishing the details a bit!
and naturally, as the fates conspire, the tenjin just broke… day before in perfect time. Emergency gluing, and we’ll see where it stands in the morning
Finished!!! (for now)
Since I didn’t want to skin it yet, I used an incense holder to set the koma on, and it worked out pretty well. Also, my roommate made that neo in about an hour. Very impressive.
On this one, you can see the bit of yellow above the highest itomaki. Polyurethane glue is wonderful XD
bonus image!
Swicked!!!
Excellent start Bryan! Good save on the tenjin. 
The incense holder reminds me of the new skinless electric shamisen.
You know, if you plan on waiting to skin it, what about turning it into a gottan? I.e, using thin wood as a resonating plate / soundboard instead of skin? I think that would sound very nice.
is the wood kept on by the pressure on the koma, or is there something connecting it?
It’s attached somehow (as there’s equipment on it to pick up the frequencies)
There’s a picture of it somewhere in Shamisen Katoh’s blog, but I have no idea where it is.
Bryan, very nice work! Welcome to Bachido!
Well, as I was falling asleep, I was coerced into playing a bit of hanbunko with my friend… maybe we will start a new video series of learning XD