A shamisen instrument maker near Tokyo has developed a synthetic substitute for the cat and dog skins used to craft the traditional three-stringed instrument.
Developed by Komatsuya Ltd., the artificial material has been well received by professional musicians for its ability to match sound created by the animal skins, lower price, higher durability and wider public acceptance.
Animal skins have long been used to cover the front and back of the plucked lute's body, giving the shamisen its unique sound. Komatsuya usually sources dog skins from Southeast Asia, but their poor quality and rising prices had been an ongoing worry for President Hideo Komatsu, 63, who had fretted about the future of the instrument.