Simple Sanshin Source

Notes and the western equivalents

Question: Where do I place the note markers, and what are the Ryukyuan notes in relation to western music?

I’ve made a video to describe the relation of the notes “in person.” You can find a map of the notes and a few more Q&As here.

Here’s a chart I made that better shows the relation between the notes, their western counterparts, and the finger used. You don’t have to know kanji to learn to play the sanshin; just remember where they are on the sanshin and you’ll be fine.

Ryukyuan	Western	Do-Re-Mi	Finger
合 (ai)	C	DO	Open
乙 (otsu)	D	RE	Index
老 (rou)	E	MI	Middle
四 (shi)	F	FA	Open
上 (jou)	G	SO	Index
中 (chuu)	A	LA	Middle
尺 (shaku)	B	TI	Pinkie
工 (kou)	C	DO	Open
五 (go)	D	RE	Index
六 (roku)	E	MI	Middle
七 (shichi)	F	FA	Pinkie
八 (hachi)	G	SO	Pinkie

Update: YouTube channel and thanks

Some of you may have noticed that I created a YouTube account for the Simple Sanshin Source. I’m not that great of a speaker, and most of the videos are ad-libbed on the spot, but I hope that my videos can be of some use to you.

P.S.
I’ve been a tad busy with my own things lately, but I’ll be sure to post a few new kunkunshi before the year’s end.

P.P.S.
Thanks to everyone for showing interest in this website. Over the past month that this site has been up, I’ve gotten quite a few e-mails and hundreds of site visits from all over the world. I only hope that I can continue to provide useful information and resources for us sanshin lovers.

Thanks for the support.

Reading kunkunshi

Question: Hey I was wondering what the circle’s mean in the kukunshi, and they’re corresponding arrows?

That’s a good question that I should have addressed much sooner. Originally, I was just going to describe the symbols and their meanings, but I thought adding visual aids would help people better understand what I’m describing. I also thought I’d touch down on how to read kunkunshi altogether.

The format

In Japanese, traditional sentences are written vertically from right to left; kunkunshi are also written in that order. So when you read a kunkunshi, you want start at the top right and work your way down, and then move from right to left.

You should also notice that the kunkunshi is made up of squares, and for your basic songs, one note will take up one square. One square equals one beat, so remember to play the notes at a faster beat whenever you see two notes in one square, or three notes across two squares.


The symbols

	The circle means to “rest,” usually for one beat.
	This marks the start of a repeated section. (Repeat starting here.)
	This marks the end of a repeated section. (Return to the down-pointing arrow after this note.)
*note: Similar to the arrows, there are sometimes extending circle markers to show where to start and stop playing from.
	This apostrophe-like mark above a note means to press down on a note w/o strumming. Sort of like hammering a note on a guitar.
	Usually notes are played by striking the bachi down on the string, but for these notes you play striking up.
	These small circles mark where the singing begins.
	The squares mark where the singing ends.
*note: The circle and square are used in two different ways. Sometimes they only mark where the singing starts and ends, and other times they mark each phrase of the song.

Bashoufu

Bashoufu, a song about Okinawa, is one of the first songs I learned because it’s fairly easy to sing along with.


Lyrics:
海の青さに　空の青
南の風に　緑葉の
芭蕉は情けに　手を招く
常夏の国　我した島沖縄（うちなー）

首里の古城の　石だたみ
昔を偲ぶ　かたほとり
実れる芭蕉　熟れていた
緑葉の下　我した島沖縄（うちなー）

今は昔の　首里天加那志（しゅいてぃんじゃなし）
唐ヲゥーつむぎ　はたを織り
上納ささげた　芭蕉布
浅地（あさじ）紺地（くんぢ）の　我した島沖縄（うちなー）



Romanji version:
Umi no aosa ni sora no ao
Minami no kaze ni midoriba no
Bashou wa nasake ni te wo maneku
Tokonatsu no kuni washita shima Uchinaa

Shuri no kojou no ishi da tami
Mukashi wo shinobu katahotori
Minoreru bashou ureteita
Midoriba no shita washita shima Uchinaa

Ima wa mukashi no shuitinjanashi
Tou uu tsumugi hata wo ori
Jounou sasageta bashoufu
Asajikunji no washita shima Uchinaa washita shima Uchinaa

Tinsagu nu Hana　（てぃんさぐぬ花）

Tinsagu nu Hana, or Chinsagu nu Hana, is another supremely well known Okinawan folk song heard throughout the island. It’s a beautiful song about our relationships with our parents and life.

While the first three verses are about the guidance received from parents, the last three versus are about life goals.


Lyrics:
てぃんさぐぬ花や　爪先（ちみさち）に染（す）みてぃ
親（うや）のゆし事（ぐとぅ）や　肝（ちむ）に染（す）みり

天（てぃん）ぬ群星（むりぶし）や　ゆみばゆまりしが
親（うや）のゆし事（ぐとぅ）や　ゆみやならん

夜走（ゆるは）らす船（ふに）や　子（に）ぬ方星（ふぁぶし）目当（みあ）てぃ
我（わ）ん産（な）ちぇる親（うや）や　我（わ）んどぅ目当（みあ）てぃ

宝玉（たからだま）やてぃん　磨（みが）かにば錆（さび）す
朝夕肝（あさゆちむ）磨（みが）ち　浮世（うちゆ）渡（わた）ら

誠（まくとぅ）する人（ひとぅ）や　後（あとぅ）や何時（いち）迄（までぃ）ん
思（う）む事（ごとぅ）ん叶（かな）てぃ　千代（ちゆ）ぬ栄（さか）い

なしば何事（なにぐとぅ）ん　なゆる事（ぐとぅ）やしが
なさぬ故（ゆい）からどぅ　ならぬ定（さだ）み



Romanji version:
Tinsagu nu hana ya chimi sachi ni sumiti
Uya nu yushi gutu ya chimu ni sumiri

Tin nu muri bushi ya yumiba yumarishiga
Uya nu yushi gutu ya yumiyanaran

Yuruharasu funi ya ni nu fuabushi miati
Wan na cheru uya ya wandu miati

Takaradama yatin migaka niba sabisu
Asayu chimu migachi uchiyu watara

Makutu suru hitu ya atu ya ichi madin
Umukutun kanati chiyunu sakai

Nashiba nani gutun nayuru gutu yashiga
Nasanu yui karadu naranu sadami

Update: rewriting kunkunshi

I’ve been making regular updates to the site, but the kunkunshi section is one that hasn’t seen much action. The last edit I made was this:

*edit: 08/11/22 I’ve decided to only upload kunkunshi I’ve personally redrawn/rewrote to avoid possible trouble with copyrights. Although I don’t imagine there to be many problems because most Okinawan songs are shared folk songs, I figure that I should choose to err on the safe side.

I got an e-mail from someone saying they’d like to share their kunkunshi with me, but they were worried about possible copyright repercussions. At first I didn’t really care, or didn’t want to care because of a belief that no one should be able to “own” kunkunshi, but I decided it best not to take my chances. Anyways, I was finally able to make this update to the lonely kunkunshi section:

*edit: 08/12/04 It’s been some time, but I’ve managed to finish one piece of music! It took a while because I had to redraw/rewrite it—see the above note for why—onto my computer using Photoshop. Anyways, now that I’ve got the basic layers and such down in Photoshop, I’ll be able to upload more kunkunshi more easily. (I think.)

Asadoya Yunta　（安里屋ユンタ）

Asadoya Yunta—a love song I suppose you could genre it—is a great song for beginners because it’s easy to play and sing along with. It’s also one of the most easily recognized songs in Okinawa, and I don’t think I can name a person around me who hasn’t heard it. So if you don’t know it already, then this is definitely a song you put in your practice queue.

(I’ve gone ahead and posted the lyrics in both Japanese and romanji.)


Lyrics:
サー君は野中のいばらの花か（サーユイユイ）
暮れて帰ればやれほにひきとめる
マタハーリヌツィンダラカヌシャマヨ

サー嬉し恥ずかし浮き名を立てて（サーユイユイ）
主は白百合やれほにままならぬ
マタハーリヌツィンダラカヌシャマヨ

サー田草とるなら十六夜月夜（サーユイユイ）
二人で気がねもやれほに水入らず
マタハーリヌツィンダラカヌシャマヨ

サー染めてあげましょ紺地の小袖（サーユイユイ）
かけておくれよ情けのたすき
マタハーリヌツィンダラカヌシャマヨ

サー沖縄よいとこ一度はメンソーレ（サーユイユイ）
春夏秋冬緑の島よ
マタハーリヌツィンダラカヌシャマヨ



Romanji version:
Saa kimi wa nonaka no ibara no hana ka (saa yui yui)
Kurete kaereba yarehoni hiki tomeru
(Mata haari nu chindara kanushama yo)

Saa ureshi hazukashi ukina o tatete (saa yui yui)
nushi wa shirayuri yarehoni mama naranu
(Mata haari nu chindara kanushama yo)

Saa tagusa toru nara izayoi tsuki yo (saa yui yui)
Futari de kigane mo yarehoni mizu irazu
(Mata haari nu chindara kanushama yo)

Saa somete agemasho konji no kosode (saa yui yui)
Kakete okureyo nasake no tasuki
(Mata haari nu chindara kanushama yo)

Saa Okinawa yoi toko ichido wa mensoure (saa yui yui)
Haru natsu aki fuyu midori no shima yo
(Mata haari nu chindara kanushama yo)

Tuning to sansage （三下げ）

Question: How do I tune to sansage?

Sansage is literally translated as “three down” because you’re going to be tuning the third string—miijiru—down. The first thing you want to do is get your sanshin tuned to honchoushi, and then tune your miijiru to a low flat sound. (Your ears will eventually get used to the pitch you’re aiming for.) Then alternate playing GO （五） and turning the karakui until you arrive at what should sound like miijiru in honchoushi when GO is played.

I made an instructional video to help you figure out my words:

Just in case, here is a step-by-step of how to tune to sansage:
1. Tune to honchoushi.
2. Turn the miijiru down to a lower pitch.
3. Hold down GO （五） and play the miijiru, adjusting until you have a honchoushi sound.

Note: when playing in sansage the position of shichi （七） will shift down a bit.

Internet sanshin prices

Question: I did some searching on eBay but the prices seem really high for a fabric sanshin ($300+). Are there any sanshin websites that sell quality sanshins at a reasonable price?

I wish I could help, but I’ve never purchased a sanshin online before. However, after visiting some Japanese internet sanshin shops, I can tell you that the online stores sell imitation skinned sanshin for about $300 even in Japan, so the deals on Ebay aren’t so different from the deals in Japan.

(Of course, I can’t speak for every internet shop out there.)