During the Gen period (1271-1635) of Chinese history, a three-stringed Chinese musical instrument known as the sanxian was introduced to the Ryukyu Islands (the former official name of Okinawa Prefecture by which it is still sometimes referred to as) where it was known as the sanshin. Upon arriving in the Japanese mainland, the instrument came to be known as the shamisen. Each Tokyo shamisen is handcrafted and features exquisite chiseling and other facets of exceptional craftsmanship. The unique reverberation known as “sawari,” created by the resonance of a plucked string on a shamisen coming into contact with a part of the instrument, creating high frequency overtones, is just one facet of the fine craftsmanship behind these instruments that heightens its allure.