The three-stringed shamisen produces one of the distinctive sounds of Japan. It's the soundtrack to kabuki performances and traditional dance shows. But the centuries-old instrument is facing an ...

Piano, Shamisen, and Electronic Sounds Since debuting with her 1976 album JAPANESE GIRL, Yano Akiko has been a trailblazer in ...

The instrument manufacturing company Marusan Hashimoto in the city of Nagahama, Shiga Prefecture, is very busy making strings for the shamisen, the koto and other instruments. Strings make sounds ...