Traditional shamisen class attracts young Japanese

A special feature is that the traditional shamisen is “renovated” made from cardboard. Traditional musical instruments such as the shamisen are inherently expensive, but this change has helped reduce the cost much, making it more suitable for the income of the majority of young Japanese people. This is said to be an effective way to bring Japanese youth closer to national musical instruments.

Ms. Tachidani Misato – Shamisen teacher said: “Traditional shamisen is very expensive and difficult to buy. However, when we changed to carton material, the price dropped deeply, usually only 1/10 so so easier to buy. Hopefully at this price, more people can get used to traditional musical instruments.”

The traditional shamisen is composed quite simply with 3 strings made of silk fabric, the gourd uses the same material as the drum surface, with just a little instruction, the player can easily create a good sound. Recently, classes on shamisen in particular and ethnic musical instruments in general have been opened all over Japan, attracting many students, mostly young people who love traditional art.

Mr. Nishimura Nobuhiro – Student: “Nowadays there are many people who can play the guitar, so I chose shamisen to become more special. I want to practice very well so that I can perform on the street with the desire to introduce to many people. more about this interesting instrument”.

Mr. Fujimoto Hidesetsuhiro – Shamisen teacher: “In order to make it easier for many young Japanese as well as foreign guests to access the shamisen even during the epidemic season, we have accepted to teach online. To us, each musical instrument is traditional. Every tradition has a mission to convey the attractions of Japan to international friends.”

According to Mr. Fujimoto, who has 41 years in the profession, to learn the shamisen only takes 3 months to be able to read the music and practice the songs that he likes. Along with innovating the guitar with cardboard materials, ethnic musical instrument classes make a significant contribution to bringing traditional values ​​to the next generations.

Tokyo alone has nearly 60 shamisen classes. Not only the shamisen, but also many other traditional musical instruments such as the koto string instrument, the shakuhachi bamboo flute, etc. have also been made efforts by generations of Japanese people to maintain and develop and preserve the traditional cultural identity in today’s society. great today.

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