Episode 32 Okinawa Sanshin

January 15, 2026

Okinawa Sanshin

The Ubiquitous Folk Instrument of these Southern Japanese Islands

📍 Okinawa, Japan

His Website: https://arakaki34.com/ 

Thoughts and Reflections

Arakaki-san was of course fantastic to visit. Due to language barriers, it was hard to know what to expect. To find him, I went through a Sanshin cooperative, and Arakaki was kind enough to write back and welcome me in. 

I had bought a sanshin (with fake snake skin) when I was in Kyoto a year prior, though I didn't know much about the instrument. I had a high fever when buying it, so I didn't really ask questions about it. When doing research, I was disappointed to learn that 70% of Sanshin are made overseas; though I was giving the benefit of the doubt, that this reputable music store in Kyoto would only sell authentic Japanese Sanshin.

I really didn't know how to frame the episode well, so I procrastinated on it. I filmed it in March 2025, so it's been nearly a year since filming it. But, the framing came naturally, when I ended up going to Kyushu and filming another episode about a similar local instrument there. So these are companion episodes.