shamisen

/ ˈsæmɪˌsɛn; ˈʃæmɪˌsɛn /

noun

1. a Japanese plucked stringed instrument with a long neck, an unfretted fingerboard, and a rectangular soundbox

Word History and Origins

Origin of shamisen¹

Japanese, from Chinese san-hsien, from san three + hsien string

Example Sentences

It includes Carolyn Jones, as Morticia, singing “Deck the Halls” to the accompaniment of shamisen and harpsichord and a closing group sing of “We Wish You a Merry Christmas.”

From Los Angeles Times

“Negativland” buzzes with a distorted twang created by Plank manually phasing two recordings of Dinger playing the shamisen, a Japanese banjo, standing between two tape machines and slowing down one tape and then the other.

From Washington Post

Ahead of the Games, Olympics fans - some of whom have forked out thousands of dollars for tickets to top-flight events - can buy Tokyo 2020 stamped versions of everything from three-stringed shamisens to silky “sukajan” jackets.

From Reuters

“I have more pieces for rock guitar than acoustic guitar. So writing for the shamisen felt very natural: The distortion comes with it.”

From New York Times

The celebrations included the unveiling of the Olympic medal design, the presentation of the torch relay “ambassadors”, a performance by traditional Japanese string instrument shamisen players and speeches, including by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

From Reuters