Shamisen
/ʃəˈmiː.sən/noun
A Japanese three-stringed musical instrument with a long neck and a square, skin-covered body.
Did you know?The shamisen evolved in Japan after the Chinese sanxian reached the Ryukyu Islands, where it became the Okinawan sanshin before spreading to the Japanese mainland.
Etymological Timeline
Medieval China
Middle Chinese
三弦 (sanxian)
“A three-stringed instrument; the Chinese ancestor of the later shamisen tradition.”
15th–16th Century
Ryukyuan Japanese
三線 (sanshin)
“Three strings; the Okinawan adaptation of the Chinese instrument.”
16th Century
Japanese
三味線 (samisen)
“The Japanese three-stringed instrument, developed after the instrument reached Japan from the Ryukyu Islands.”
Edo Period
Japanese
しゃみせん (shamisen)
“The established Japanese pronunciation and form of the instrument’s name.”
Modern English
English
shamisen
“A Japanese three-stringed instrument used in folk, theatrical, classical, and popular music.”