Shamisen of Tsugaru - Strumming the Sound of Snow Storms

Back from my work today in the evening rush hour, when I just got out of my neighborhood train station, there was a street musician playing shamisen, the Japanese traditional instrument with strings. His style of playing the instrument was called Tsugaru, which is originated in northern Japan called Aomori, far north in the Tohoku region. The sound of Tsugaru style is strongly connected to it's nature, especially to the severeness of northern winter weather. Whenever I hear Tsugaru, I imagine of the snow storm under the gray sky, while the sight of ocean with rocky shore that breaks rough waves in front of me.

Well, enough blahs. It's much easier to actually listen to this great Tsugaru master, Chikuzan Takahashi, to introduce what it sounds like. So here it is.

**Just to leave one note before you actually play the clip below. If you're a cat lover. I might not recommend you to play it, because this clean white body of the shamisen is actually made of cat's skin.