The Spirit of Japan: A Collection of Famous and Popular Shamisen Pieces
The shamisen is the quintessential traditional Japanese instrument.
Of course, it’s used to perform classic pieces, but it’s also a highly versatile instrument that shines in solo performances of intense songs and in collaborations with rock bands—traditional yet packed with showmanship.
In this article, we’ll introduce a wide range of songs that feature the shamisen.
We’ve included everything from older works to the latest tracks!
If you’re thinking about starting the shamisen, you might find this helpful—so be sure to read to the end!
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- [2013 Japanese Hit Songs] Masterpieces that Colored the Ama-chan Boom, Group Popularity, and the Band Scene
- [Local Songs] Recommended tracks packed with Japan’s nationwide classics and hometown pride
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[The Spirit of Japan] Shamisen Masterpieces and Popular Songs (21–30)
Paradise Has No BorderShimura Ken × Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra
This is a song that Ken Shimura and Hiromitsu Agatsuma collaborated on with Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra.
It was featured in a 2016 KIRIN “Hyoketsu” commercial and became a hot topic.
The opening is a skit-style segment featuring the grand entrance of the Bakatonosama (Fool Lord), but around 35 seconds in, a stunning live performance starts as a surprise.
The dynamic energy characteristic of Skapara resonates with the lively tones of the shamisen.
It’s the cat, it’s the cat.Unknown
Known as “Occhokochoi-bushi” or “Neko ja Neko ja,” this is a popular folk song that spread from the Edo period into the Meiji era.
One verse depicts a wife, on the verge of being caught cheating, claiming that the man she’s hiding is actually a cat, while her husband responds by picking apart the lie in detail.
Although it’s a traditional popular song with roots in the Edo period, its content includes a humorous “pursuit of a lie,” so it is often performed with the light, playful feel of the shamisen.
It is also a lively piece frequently used as entrance music by rakugo storytellers.
spring rainNAGANO Motose
Also known as “Uguisu-yado no Ume” (The Nightingale’s Plum), it features lyrics by Hanamori Shibata, a retainer of the Hizen Ogi domain, and became popular in Edo around the Kaei era (1848–1854).
It is unclear who set it to melody, but it is said to have been Okatsu, a courtesan of Maruyama.
As a celebrated hauta piece, it is still widely sung today.
Old PineKineie Tokushima Shibu
“Oimatsu” is a quintessential Nagauta piece, composed in the late Edo period by the fourth Kineya Rokuzaburō.
Because “old pine” symbolizes longevity, it has long been cherished as a celebratory work suitable for festive occasions.
It’s a single piece that distills the charm of Nagauta—expansive, elegant, and refined.
deep seaNiya-NIYA-
This is a piece by Tsugaru shamisen artist NIYA, who hails from Yagishiri Island in Haboro, Hokkaido.
The track is included on the mini-album VersuS.
You could say it’s a collaboration between the shamisen and contemporary rhythm instruments.
The rhythm makes a strong statement, but that powerful beat seems to further accentuate the fiercely strummed timbre of the Tsugaru shamisen.
It’s a work that offers a glimpse into NIYA’s pursuit of new possibilities for the Tsugaru shamisen, including collaborations with DJs and wind ensembles.
Jonkara ShinsetsuTakahashi Chikuzan
Takahashi Chikuzan is a legendary figure in the shamisen world who popularized the Tsugaru shamisen nationwide through his energetic postwar live performances and record releases.
Here he performs Tsugaru Jongara Bushi— the most famous piece in the Tsugaru shamisen repertoire and one of the Five Great Tsugaru Folk Songs that have been carefully passed down.
Don’t miss this dynamic work that leaves everyone in awe.
Tsugaru Ohara BushiKinoshita Shinichi
Mr.
Shinichi Kinoshita is a shamisen master renowned not only for his overwhelming skill but also for his courtesy and warm fan service.
While pioneering contemporary performances through collaborations with violin and jazz, he also places great value on the Tsugaru shamisen as a traditional folk art.
“Tsugaru Oharabushi” is an extremely challenging piece in which intensity and lightness intertwine, and it is one of the five great folk songs of Tsugaru.
It is performed with Mr.
Kinoshita’s unwavering virtuosity and exceptional stability.