ZAMEK Culture Centre

The Japanese penchant for finding beauty in simple, austere and often imperfect things is also tangible in music, manifesting in the sawari, for example. Sawari denotes the buzzing, slightly muffled sound characteristic of the fretless shamisen lute. It is produced thanks to a small groove where the first string is attached. The effect is enhanced by the leather stretched over the resonator and the special plectrum (bachi). used to pluck the strings.

With its unique sound, the shamisen has come to epitomize Japanese music. Initially used only by itinerant singers, it penetrated—from the mid-17th century onwards—into all areas of musical culture, from folklore and court music to avant-garde and popular music. 

The shamisen, and specifically its virtuoso variety, the Tsugaru shamisen, is the heart and soul of the neofolk band Mitsune. Its members masterfully combine the sound of the traditional lute with bold vocals, deep double bass and a deluge of drum beats. All that combines into a colourful performance,  full of joy, humour and surprising references.

Text by Dr. Łukasz Smoluch - ethnomusicologist from Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań.