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
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
No Reserve
H 47.25 in W 72 in D 3 in
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
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
'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
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
"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
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 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
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
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
Crayon, Paper, Oil Crayon, Graphite
H 29.93 in W 22.05 in D 0.08 in
'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
H 15.44 in W 11.75 in
People Also Browsed
Ceiling of the Paris Opera House
By Marc Chagall
Located in Boca Raton, FL
Ceiling of the Paris Opera House
The value is in the beautiful framing. Please note the shipping cost as the piece is very large (frame is 47" x 47").
In 1960, the Minister of ...
Category
20th Century Romantic Used Shamisen
Materials
Ink, Paper
Japanese Silk Haori Jacket UME Dark Red 1980s
Located in Paris, FR
This is a silk jacket which was made in Japan.
It was made in Showa era around 1980s.
The haori is a traditional Japanese hip- or thigh-length jacket worn over a kimono. Resembling ...
Category
1980s Japanese Showa Used Shamisen
Materials
Silk
Toyohara Kunichika Japanese Triptych Woodblock Print of Kabuki Theater Actors
By Toyohara Kunichika
Located in Studio City, CA
A wonderfully composed, beautifully, and richly colored triptych woodblock print by famed Japanese artist Toyohara Kunichika featuring four dramatic and quite intense Kabuki theatre ...
Category
Early 20th Century Japanese Meiji Used Shamisen
Materials
Paper
H 14.5 in W 29.5 in D 0.1 in
Vintage Stevengraph of a Bull Fight
Located in Oxfordshire, GB
Antique Stevengraph, Spanish Bull Fight.
A rare late 19th century woven silk Stevengraph of a Bull Fight entitled "Spanish Bull Fight". This example forms part of a series by Thomas ...
Category
1910s English Used Shamisen
Materials
Paper
Japanese Style Four Panel Screen Spring Birds Singing
Located in Rio Vista, CA
Attractive Japanese style folding four panel byobu screen from the late Showa period. The screen is titled friendly birds singing in spring and signed by an artist with a cyclical da...
Category
20th Century Chinese Showa Used Shamisen
Materials
Brass
Orchid
By Kono Bairei
Located in Florham Park, NJ
Kono Bairei (1844 – 1895)
One Hundred Flowering Plants.
Japan, 1901. (Posthumous.)
Woodblock Print.
15 x 11.unframed.
Okura Magobei, Publisher.
The enthusiasm for nature pri...
Category
Early 1900s Academic Used Shamisen
Materials
Woodcut
Japanese Antique Playful Rabbit Family Amidst Flowers Two Panel Screen
Located in South Burlington, VT
Japan, a small and unusual two panel tea screen of four playful rabbits amidst pink and white flowers in, byōbu. It dates to the Taisho period.
Dimensions: 41 inches high and 56 i...
Category
Early 20th Century Japanese Taisho Used Shamisen
Materials
Silk, Wood
Japanese Kutani Porcelain Beauty, Bijin, or Geisha, Showa Era, 1930's, Japan
Located in Austin, TX
A delightful Japanese Kutani enameled porcelain figure of a bijin or geisha, early Showa Era, circa 1930's, Japan.
The elegant figure of a beautiful woman, called a bijin, or perhap...
Category
1930s Used Shamisen
Materials
Porcelain
H 13.25 in W 4.5 in D 4.5 in
Japanese Two Panel Screen: Summer Flowers
Located in Hudson, NY
Screen depicts Summer flowers and birds on gilded silk. Signature reads: Konishi Fukunen. Notes about Artist: Konishi Fukunen (1887-1959) was born the second son of...
Category
Mid-20th Century Japanese Used Shamisen
Materials
Silk
Red Card
Located in Ibadan, Oyo
"Yellow Card" is a thought-provoking artwork created by Ogunniyi Oluwatosin, a Nigerian artist who uses her art to explore social issues. The artwork features a woman with her eyes c...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Expressionist Used Shamisen
Materials
Charcoal, Canvas, Acrylic
Shepherds - Woodcut by Sadao Watanabe - Late 20th Century
By Sadao Watanabe
Located in Roma, IT
Shepherds is an original xylography artwork realized by Sadao Watanabe.
The state of preservation is very good.
The artwork is specially designed for the college women' association...
Category
Late 20th Century Contemporary Used Shamisen
Materials
Woodcut
H 7.68 in W 11.82 in D 0.04 in
Panther Big Game Trophy Natural Sisal Fiber Sculpture Puma Anne Andersson Art
Located in Surfside, FL
Anne Andersson
Sisal fiber wall sculpture
Black Panther Head (# 1)
Hand signed to verso
Dated 2008.
Measures approx. 12 1/4" height x 8 1/2" width x 8 3/4" depth
Her sculptures a...
Category
Early 2000s Naturalistic Used Shamisen
Materials
Tapestry, Clay, Wood
H 12.25 in W 8.5 in D 8.75 in
Antique Mid - 18th Century George III sterling silver dinner plate
Located in Braintree, GB
Antique Mid - 18th Century George III sterling silver dinner plate
Maker: Sebastian & James Crespell
Made in England, London, 1767
Fully Hallmarked.
The dinner plate is with rais...
Category
Mid-18th Century British George III Used Shamisen
Materials
Silver
Japanese Asian Signed Large Four-Panel Byobu Screen Bamboo Cherry Blossoms Birds
Located in Studio City, CA
A gorgeous large/tall four-panel Japanese Byobu folding screen depicting a nature scene/landscape with playful yellow and orange birds frolicking in nature among the branches of a bl...
Category
20th Century Japanese Showa Used Shamisen
Materials
Silk
H 72 in W 71 in D 0.75 in
Yoshitoshi Tsukioka Japanese Woodblock Print Iron Cauldron and the Moon at Night
By Tsukioka Yoshitoshi
Located in Studio City, CA
A wonderful and somewhat comical/whimsical Meiji Period woodblock print by revered Japanese artist/ printmaker Yoshitoshi Tsukioka (1839 - 1892 ) titled "An Iron Cauldron and the Moo...
Category
19th Century Japanese Meiji Used Shamisen
Materials
Paper
H 17.25 in W 13.25 in D 0.5 in
Japanese Vintage Silk Kimono Belt 1970s Flowers
Located in Paris, FR
This is Obi made in Japan around 1970s.
It is made with Silk and it is in good condition.
Obi is a belt of varying size and shape worn with both traditional Japanese clothing like...
Category
1970s Japanese Showa Used Shamisen
Materials
Silk
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
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
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
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
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
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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