An Okinawan sanshin

The sanshin (三線, literally meaning "three strings") is an Okinawan musical instrument, and precursor of the Japanese shamisen. Often likened to a banjo, it consists of a snakeskin-covered body, neck and three strings. Image File history File linksMetadata Sanshin2. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Sanshin2. ... This article is about the prefecture. ... A musical instrument is a device constructed or modified with the purpose of making music. ... Kitagawa Utamaro, Flowers of Edo: Young Womans Narrative Chanting to the Samisen, ca. ... Old 6-string zither banjo For other uses, see Banjo (disambiguation) The banjo is a stringed instrument of African American origin, early or original examples sometimes being called the gourd banjo. Its name is commonly thought to be derived from the Kimbundu term mbanza. ...

Its close resemblance in both appearance and name to the Chinese sanxian indicates its Chinese origins, the old Ryukyu Kingdom (pre-Japanese Okinawa) having very close ties with China. In the 16th century, the sanshin reached the Japanese trading port at Sakai in Osaka, Japan. In mainland Japan, it evolved into the larger shamisen. Chinese postage stamp depicting a sanxian The sanxian (Chinese: 三弦, pinyin sānxián, Wade-Giles san1-hsien2, lit. ... The main building of Shuri Castle The Ryukyu Kingdom was an independent kingdom which ruled most of the Ryukyu Islands from the 14th century to the 19th century. ... (15th century - 16th century - 17th century - more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 16th century was that century which lasted from 1501 to 1600. ... Sakai (堺市; -shi) is a city located in Osaka Prefecture, Japan. ... Osaka Prefecture (大阪府 Ōsaka-fu) is part of the Kinki region on Honshu island, Japan. ... Kitagawa Utamaro, Flowers of Edo: Young Womans Narrative Chanting to the Samisen, ca. ...

The Okinawan names for the strings are (from thick to thin) uujiru ("man-string"), nakajiru ("middle string"), and miijiru ("female string"). The strings are white, except in Amami, where they are yellow. The Amami Islands amami shotō) are part of the Ryukyu Archipelago. ...

Traditionally, players wore a plectrum, made of a material such as the horn of the water buffalo, on the index finger. Many still do, whereas others use a guitar pick or the nail of the index finger. In Amami, long, narrow plectra of bamboo are also in use. A plectrum (plural: plectra) is a device for plucking or strumming a stringed instrument. ... Highland cow, a very old long-horned breed from Scotland. ... Binomial name Bubalus bubalis (Kerr, 1792) The Water Buffalo is a very large ungulate and a member of the bovine subfamily. ... Fingers of the human left hand The finger is any of the digits of the hand in humans and other species such as the great apes. ... Various guitar picks. ... Nails: left hand, adult human male Anatomy In anatomy, a nail is a horn-like piece at the end of an animal finger or toe. ... A plectrum (plural: plectra) is a device for plucking or strumming a stringed instrument. ... Diversity Around 91 genera and 1,000 species Subtribes Arthrostylidiinae Arundinariinae Bambusinae Chusqueinae Guaduinae Melocanninae Nastinae Racemobambodinae Shibataeinae See the full Taxonomy of the Bambuseae. ...

In mainland Japan, many people refer to the sanshin as jabisen (蛇皮線, literally "snake-skin strings") because the body of the instrument has a snakeskin covering. A bamboo bridge raises the strings off the skin. Superfamilies and Families Henophidia Aniliidae Anomochilidae Boidae Bolyeriidae Cylindrophiidae Loxocemidae Pythonidae Tropidophiidae Uropeltidae Xenopeltidae Typhlopoidea Anomalepididae Leptotyphlopidae Typhlopidae Xenophidia Acrochordidae Atractaspididae Colubridae Elapidae Hydrophiidae Viperidae Snakes (from Old English snaca, and ultimately from the Proto-Indo-European base snag- or sneg-, to crawl), also known as ophidians, are cold blooded... A bridge is the part of a guitar, bass or other stringed instrument where the strings join the body of the instrument. ...

In the years following World War II, many Okinawans made sanshin from empty tin cans. These "kankara sanshin" were a sign of both the poverty of the postwar years, and the Okinawans' tenacious love of music. To meet Wikipedias quality standards, the use of images on this page may require cleanup, involving adjustment of image placement, formatting, size, or other adjustments. ... Three tin cans of varying sizes; the one on front is opened with a pull tab. ...

Due to international wildlife protection treaties, it is not legal to export snakeskin-covered sanshins to some countries (for example the United Kingdom and United States). If buying a sanshin to take out of Okinawa, it is probably advisable to purchase one that is not covered with snakeskin.

Since non-snakeskin-covered sanshins tend to be cheaper and less well-made, there are two options for individuals wanting to buy a high quality sanshin for export. The first is to purchase a snakeskin sanshin and have the snakeskin replaced with (usually snakeskin-patterned) cloth. Most sanshin workshops will do this. However, anyone thinking of doing this should be advised that changing the material can radically affect the sound of the sanshin, so there is no guaranteeing that the instrument's tonal qualities will be preserved. Perhaps a better option is to have a non-snakeskin sanshin custom-made. In many cases, this should not cost significantly more than buying a snakeskin sanshin and having it re-bound, and the risk of disappointment is lower.

See also

• Shamisen
• Sanxian

Kitagawa Utamaro, Flowers of Edo: Young Womans Narrative Chanting to the Samisen, ca. ... Chinese postage stamp depicting a sanxian The sanxian (Chinese: 三弦, pinyin sānxián, Wade-Giles san1-hsien2, lit. ...

External links

• Purchase Sanshin and other traditional Japanese instruments