Okinawan Traditional 3 String Instrument Sanshin
*Description*
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*The sanshin is an Okinawan Islands musical instrument and precursor of the mainland Japanese shamisen. Often likened to a banjo, it consists of a snakeskin-covered body(can't export animal skin, so artificial cover used for selling item), neck and three strings.
Its close resemblance in both appearance and name to the Chinese sanxian suggests Chinese origins, the then-Ryūkyū Kingdom (pre-Japanese Okinawa) having very close ties with Imperial 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, and many people refer to the sanshin as jabisen or jamisen due to its snakeskin covering. The sanshin is considered the soul of Okinawan folk music. Played by youth as young as 2, to older people aged 100 or more, there is a sanshin in most Okinawan homes. It is the center of small informal family gatherings, weddings, birthdays, other celebrations, community parties, festivals. The sanshin is held in great respect among the Ryukyuan culture, and is often viewed as an instrument that carries the voice of the deities, and is regarded as a deity itself. This is reflected in the traditional construction of the sanshin. Sanshin are generally designed to last more than a lifetime, as they are often passed down through the generations of a family.