Used Shamisen
Street Singers (Ukiyobushi), Shamisen Player and Singer
By Takahashi Hiroaki (Shotei)
Located in Middletown, NY
Watanabe Shozaburo, 1936. Woodblock in colors on handmade mulberry paper, Koban 182 x 120 mm, full margins. With the Shôtei artist seal in red ink, upper right. Signed "Shotei" and t...
Category
Early 20th Century Used Shamisen
Materials
Watercolor, Handmade Paper, Woodcut
Japanese Children in Traditional Dress Playing Shamisen - Woman Artist
Located in Miami, FL
East meets West in this charming illustration where a female American Illustrator paints a scene of two jovial Japanese youths in a semi-Japanese style. Clara Miller Burd was a brill...
Category
Early 20th Century American Realist Used Shamisen
Materials
Watercolor
H 16.75 in W 11.5 in D 1 in
A Geisha Prepares for a Shamisen Performance for the New Year-by Y. Shigenobu
By Yanagawa Shigenobu
Located in Roma, IT
A geisha prepares for a shamisen performance for the New Year is an original modern artwork
Category
19th Century Modern Used Shamisen
Materials
Etching
H 10.24 in W 9.06 in D 0.04 in
"Candy Seller" Japanese Woodblock on Rice Paper
By Utagawa Yoshiiku
Located in Soquel, CA
Uzaemon as the Candy Peddler Uzumatsu. He is playing a stringed instrument (the shamisen) to attract
Category
1860s Edo Used Shamisen
Materials
Ink, Rice Paper, Woodcut
Mizuno Toshikata Japanese Woodblock Print First Call of the Warbler, 36 Beauties
Located in Studio City, CA
time periods and walks of life. This work features a geisha practicing the shamisen under the bright
Category
1890s Japanese Meiji Used Shamisen
Materials
Paper
H 19 in W 14 in D 0.5 in
Large Japanese 6-panel byôbu 屏風 (folding screen) with Edo genre painting
Located in Amsterdam, NL
leisure, enjoying red bream, and watching a dance performance set to shamisen music. In the forefront, the
Category
Early 19th Century Japanese Used Shamisen
Materials
Metal, Gold Leaf
H 68.19 in W 144.89 in D 0.71 in
Wunderkammer, The Dance of the Skeletons, by Tanomura Chokunyu (1814-1909)
Located in PARIS, FR
skeletons dancing, while a third one, seated in the background, plays a shamisen, a traditional Japanese
Category
Late 19th Century Art Nouveau Used Shamisen
Materials
Paper
H 73.23 in W 16.93 in D 1.19 in
Vintage Handpainted Silk Japanese Geisha Screen With Ricepaper Backing
Located in Waxahachie, TX
by bamboo trees.
Little details, a shamisen, or Japanese guitar, a rice paper scroll, a Geisha
Category
1970s Japanese Edo Used Shamisen
Materials
Silk, Wood
Antique Austro-Hungarian Silver and Enamel Cigarette / Card Case
Located in Jesmond, Newcastle Upon Tyne
Japanese ladies playing traditional Japanese instruments, the koto (13 stringed zither) and the shamisen (3
Category
20th Century Slovenian Used Shamisen
Materials
Silver, Enamel
Japanese Decorative Art Openwork Iron Partition
Located in Marseille, FR
ceremony, one of which is playing the shamisen like Japanese prints and serving as a room divider, note
Category
Mid-20th Century French Art Deco Used Shamisen
Materials
Iron
Nakamura Daikichi - Woodcut Print by Utagawa Toyokuni - 1820s
By Utagawa Toyokuni
Located in Roma, IT
Shamisen probably tell the love drama of the play Koi hikyaku Yamato orai.
Signature Toyokuni ga
Category
19th Century Modern Used Shamisen
Materials
Woodcut
H 11.03 in W 15.75 in D 0.04 in
'View of Futakawa', After Utagawa Hiroshige 歌川廣重, Ukiyo-e Woodblock, Tokaido
By Utagawa Hiroshige (Ando Hiroshige)
Located in Santa Cruz, CA
musicians, as evidenced by the shamisen [three-stringed lutes] they carry on their backs. A similar scene to
Category
Mid-20th Century Used Shamisen
Materials
Sumi Ink, Washi Paper
"Gonta and Osato, Walking Beauty in Winter Eve, " Japanese Color Woodcut
By Utagawa Toyokuni II
Located in Milwaukee, WI
godairiki on her shamisen guitar, as was tradition for a geisha swearing fidelity to her lover. However, the
Category
1850s Used Shamisen
Materials
Woodcut
Japanese Art Ukiyo-e Figurative Painting, Tomimoto Toyohina, Edo period
Located in Segovia, ES
geisha (entertainer) who performed narrative ballads accompanied by the shamisen. She was one of several
Category
2010s Edo Used Shamisen
Materials
Paper, Crayon, Oil Crayon, Graphite
H 29.93 in W 22.05 in D 0.08 in
Japanese Beauties Enjoy a Full Moon
By Utagawa Kunisada (Toyokuni III)
Located in Burbank, CA
air of mystery. The seated woman on the right is perhaps a geisha, as we see a shamisen lying next to
Category
1840s Edo Used Shamisen
Materials
Mulberry Paper, Woodcut
'A Very Funny Story, Mongols' — Mid-Century Woodblock Print
By Paul Jacoulet
Located in Myrtle Beach, SC
took dancing lessons and studied gidayu (narrative chanting to the accompaniment of shamisen), at which
Category
1940s Showa Used Shamisen
Materials
Woodcut
Recent Sales
Japanese Plectrum Musical Picks
Located in Seattle, WA
Japanese hardwood plectrum (bachi) for a shamisen. The shamisen is a traditional three stringed
Category
1930s Japanese Used Shamisen
Materials
Wood
Japanese Salt and Pepper Shakers
Located in Cookeville, TN
Offering this pair of Japanese salt and pepper shakers. Made to look like a Shamisen these tiny
Category
20th Century Japanese Chinese Export Used Shamisen
Materials
Sterling Silver
Bachi
By Masayuki Nagare
Located in New York, NY
Japanese Shamisen lute, instilling the work with great ritualistic significance. For Nagare, the bachi is
Category
20th Century Used Shamisen
Materials
Granite
Very Large Japanese Bronze Ferry Boat Okimono by Seiya
Located in Christchurch, GB
bijin clutching her hat whilst holding a shamisen, aside her is an elderly lady leaning forward upon a
Category
19th Century Japanese Meiji Used Shamisen
Materials
Bronze
Japanese Geisha- exotic daguerreotype reproduction Framed
By FPA Francis Pavy Artist
Located in Lafayette, LA
serving tea while engaging in polite conversation with the spectators. Her shamisen, a traditional
Category
2010s Surrealist Used Shamisen
Materials
Inkjet
Yoshitoshi, Ukiyo-e, Thirty-two Manners and Customs, Beauty, Shamisen, Enjoyment
By Tsukioka Yoshitoshi
Located in London, GB
in the mid-19th century, practices her shamisen, a traditional Japanese instrument similar to a
Category
Late 19th Century Other Art Style Used Shamisen
Materials
Handmade Paper, Mulberry Paper, Washi Paper, Pigment, Woodcut
H 14.97 in W 10.6 in D 0.04 in
Pair of Austrian Cold Painted Bronze Japanese Figures Shamisen and Geisha
Located in Big Flats, NY
Pair of antique Austrian cold painted bronze Japanese figures depicting musician shamisen player
Category
Early 20th Century Austrian Used Shamisen
Materials
Bronze
Large Pair of Japanese Bronze Musician Sculptures Meiji Period
Located in Lambertville, NJ
A pair of male and female Japanese Meiji period figures of musicians playing a shamisen with finely
Category
1880s Asian Meiji Used Shamisen
Materials
Bronze
Framed 19th Century Japanese Woodblock - Three Songs
Located in Corsham, GB
the shamisen. The artist's signature and seal can be seen to the lower edge. Well-presented in a
Category
19th Century Used Shamisen
Materials
Woodcut
Pair of 1950s Japanese Sanshin Lithographs
Located in Garnerville, NY
three stringed instruments called Sanshin or Shamisen. Matted, glazed and framed in simple gilded wood
Category
1950s Japanese Japonisme Used Shamisen
Materials
Cherry
A Tokyo School bronze okimono depicting a walking geisha
Located in Milano, IT
against the wind, her robes gently folded and folded, while holding a shamisen in her arms. The geisha
Category
Late 19th Century Japanese Used Shamisen
Materials
Bronze
Nagara Pleasure Quarter, Kanazawa
By Kawase Hasui
Located in Burbank, CA
. Somehow the gurgling of the water and the sensuous sounds of the shamisen are full of sorrow. The low
Category
1920s Showa Used Shamisen
Materials
Handmade Paper, Woodcut
Moon-Viewing Point from 100 Famous Views of Edo
By Utagawa Hiroshige (Ando Hiroshige)
Located in Burbank, CA
shamisen. The silhouette at left is that of a courtesan preparing for bed with an unseen customer. Henry
Category
1850s Edo Used Shamisen
Materials
Mulberry Paper, Woodcut
Japan Antique Geisha Bijin Photo Album of Beauties Album 1890, 26 Photographs
Located in South Burlington, VT
in Military dress and flag
+ Geisha playing shamisen string instrument
Original paper covered
Category
Late 19th Century Japanese Meiji Used Shamisen
Materials
Paper
H 4.4 in W 6.5 in D 0.75 in
Beauties Picnicking Beneath Cherry Blossoms Triptych
By Utagawa Kunisada (Toyokuni III)
Located in Burbank, CA
her child picking herbs. Behind them is a restaurant with a woman playing a shamisen in an upper room
Category
1840s Edo Used Shamisen
Materials
Mulberry Paper, Woodcut
Reading Beauty and Stretching Cat
By Utagawa Kunisada (Toyokuni III)
Located in Burbank, CA
, who reads and plays the shamisen, which is leaned against the wall behind her. On the wall a number of
Category
1820s Edo Used Shamisen
Materials
Mulberry Paper, Woodcut
Zataku by Saburo Inui for Tendo Mokko, 1960s
By Saburo Inui
Located in Sammu-shi, Chiba
toward the bottom, just like the "bachi" of a shamisen. The form of the legs that bends and swells inside
Category
1960s Japanese Mid-Century Modern Used Shamisen
Materials
Teak
Sterling Silver Shamisen Japanese Guitar Pin / Brooch
Located in Washington Depot, CT
Vintage sterling silver pin shaped as a shamisen Japanese guitar.
Features a large oval cabochon
Category
20th Century Used Shamisen
Materials
Sterling Silver
Geinjie - Woodcut by Utagawa Kunisada - 1857
By Utagawa Kunisada (Toyokuni III)
Located in Roma, IT
palace, a youg courtier sits in front of the eailing of a veranda, listening to a koto and shamisen
Category
19th Century Modern Used Shamisen
Materials
Woodcut
H 14.97 in W 9.65 in D 0.04 in
A Downpour at Metalanim, Ponape, East Carolines
By Paul Jacoulet
Located in Myrtle Beach, SC
accompaniment of shamisen), at which he attained almost professional-level proficiency.
Under Terukata Ikeda
Category
1930s Showa Used Shamisen
Materials
Woodcut
Snowy Night 'Korea'
By Paul Jacoulet
Located in Myrtle Beach, SC
took dancing lessons and studied gidayu (narrative chanting to the accompaniment of shamisen), at which
Category
1930s Showa Used Shamisen
Materials
Woodcut
In the Private Palace Gardens; Seoul, Korea
By Paul Jacoulet
Located in Myrtle Beach, SC
took dancing lessons and studied gidayu (narrative chanting to the accompaniment of shamisen), at which
Category
1940s Showa Used Shamisen
Materials
Woodcut
Après la Danse, “Celebes” (After the Dance, “Celebes”)
By Paul Jacoulet
Located in Myrtle Beach, SC
accompaniment of shamisen), at which he attained almost professional-level proficiency.
"Under Terukata Ikeda
Category
1940s Showa Used Shamisen
Materials
Woodcut
Satsuma, Tea Caddy, Meiji Period, Antique Japanese Porcelain, Japanese Ceramics
By Satsuma
Located in London, GB
shamisen player is accompanied by joyful dancers; some cover their faces with their fans as young boys look
Category
Late 19th Century Japanese Meiji Used Shamisen
Materials
Ceramic, Porcelain
Utamaro I Kitagawa Ukiyo-E Japanese Woodblock Print 18th Century, Shamisen
By Kitagawa Utamaro 1
Located in London, GB
the shamisen under the bloom of cherry blossoms.
The three stringed lute known as the shamisen was
Category
Late 18th Century Japanese Edo Used Shamisen
Materials
Paper
H 14.18 in W 9.49 in D 0.04 in
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Used Shamisen For Sale on 1stDibs
On 1stDibs, you can find the most appropriate used shamisen for your needs in our varied inventory. Finding the perfect used shamisen may mean sifting through those created during different time periods — you can find an early version that dates to the 19th Century and a newer variation that were made as recently as the 21st Century. On 1stDibs, the right used shamisen is waiting for you and the choices span a range of colors that includes beige, black and brown. There have been many interesting used shamisen examples over the years, but those made by Utagawa Kunisada (Toyokuni III) and Paul Jacoulet are often thought to be among the most thought-provoking. Artworks like these of any era or style can make for thoughtful decor in any space, but a selection from our variety of those made in woodcut print, paper and crayon can add an especially memorable touch.
How Much is a Used Shamisen?
A used shamisen can differ in price owing to various characteristics — the average selling price for items in our inventory is $2,075, while the lowest priced sells for $608 and the highest can go for as much as $10,000.
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