samisen

[ sam-uh-sen ]

noun

1. a guitarlike Japanese musical instrument having an extremely long neck and three strings, played with a plectrum.

samisen

/ ˈsæmɪˌsɛn /

noun

1. a variant of shamisen

Word History and Origins

Origin of samisen¹

1610–20; < Japanese < Middle Chinese, equivalent to Chinese sānxia three-string banjo

Example Sentences

The music underscoring the monologue is both haunting and jarring, and it mixes in sounds from traditional Japanese theater like wooden clappers and samisen, a traditional stringed instrument.

From Los Angeles Times

Musicians represented a global palette of sounds: the Japanese samisen, African djembe and Congo drums, harp, saxophone, accordion and violin.

From New York Times

The program will include excerpts from his latest album, “Finding Friends Far From Home: A Journey With Clara Net,” in which she makes acquaintances like the mbira in Zimbabwe and the samisen in Japan.

From New York Times

“Ryeui is also a singer and samisen player who happens to be handsome, and to have studied the healing effects of tears,” says Thoms.

From National Geographic

Although they were playing a single work together, the sounds you heard — the wheeze of a piccolo, a muffled trumpet, the plucking of a samisen — felt independent.

From New York Times