Shamisen
The shamisen in five languages: Italian, German and French borrow the Japanese name for this three-string instrument
Related
Five languages
| Language | Name |
|---|---|
| Chinese | 三味线（三味線） |
| English | shamisen |
| Italian | shamisen |
| German | Shamisen |
| French | shamisen |
The shamisen is Japan's three-string plucked instrument: a slim neck and a square body, struck with a large plectrum (bachi), with a dry, percussive sound heard in kabuki, bunraku and folk song. Its ancestor is the Chinese sanxian, which reached Japan through Ryukyu (the usual account). Italian, German and French have no separate name and use shamisen.
Watch out: the shamisen is not the Chinese sanxian — its body is traditionally covered with cat or dog skin, its neck is thinner and its plectrum much larger; it also differs from Okinawa's sanshin, a separate instrument. The Chinese 三味线 transliterates the Japanese 三味線 and sits one character away from 三弦.
Read deeper → The shamisen
Sources
- 各语种名称与形制，参 The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, "Shamisen"；译名参通行音乐术语词典；本文为原创表述
Used for fact-checking only; all prose is original.