Perhaps surprisingly, the Shamisen's role in modern society is not limited to bunraku and kabuki;
A Shamisen that manipulates Japanese and Western musical scales reminiscent of multinationality, despite
being a traditional Japanese instrument,
To this day, playing the Shamisen is considered one of the fundamental skills
that a young geisha must perfect.
It is safe to say that Japan is adamant about not letting the tradition of the Shamisen fade away.
Japan's love of combining the
traditional with the cutting edge means the music of the Shamisen is still very much alive and kicking.
The Shamisen, a traditional Japanese three-stringed instrument,
produces a unique sound that is one of the most versatile and beautiful in the world.
The Yoshida Brothers, for example,
is a Japanese duo who uses the traditional Shamisen skills the musicians were taught as children
to bring the instrument into the 21st century.
The picturesque Gono line, for example, entertains passengers by drafting in musicians to play a local instrument-
a three-stringed Shamisen guitar from the northern Honshu Tsugaru region that the train serves.
A similar musical accompaniment was also used in kabuki performances, in which stories were told through dance and song,
and so a wide variety of audiences were exposed to the Shamisen during the Edo period.
Based on its appearance, one might expect the Shamisen to sound similar to the Western ukulele or banjo, but the
reality is that it's a much more difficult instrument to listen to for the inexperienced ear.
The distinct sound of the Shamisen's strings lends itself very well to storytelling
and when several are played in unison, the sound can really convey a variety of emotions and atmospheres, from sultry romance to dramatic cliff-hangers.
Japanese schools of performing arts(okeiko) continue to train young women and men in the skills of Shamisen and chanting today,
and if you visit a bunraku or kabuki theatre now you are probably more likely to see female musicians than male ones.