I never paid any attention to this little metal piece until I looked at pictures/videos for the beginner shamisen and realized that it doesn’t appear in any of them. So what does it do? Should I remove it?
Leave it
That’s the knut and it protects the wood of the tenjin from being worn down. In Japanese it’s called a kamigoma.
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I wonder why it’s not in the pictures or videos for it.
Hi Connor!
Ah yes. When we receive the Beginner’s Shamisen from the maker, the kamigoma isn’t included as it is technically a separate piece of hardware. Thus, we include the Kamigoma with the Beginner’s Shamisen Accessory Set so everyone can get the full experience. It’s simply glued in place. 
Cheers!
Kyle