![]() Why and How Does a Salaryman Become a Craftsman? Aside from that, there are just around 50 shops around Tokyo where one can find a shamisen. ![]() There are only five of those in Tokyo, and Kono is one of them. The instrument can be found all over Japan, but a true Tokyo shamisen is the one made entirely by one crafstperson. The shamisen’s ancestors are a Chinese instrument and subsequently the Okinawan sanshin. To my question about his workday he is nothing short of honest – “I do my best work after I’ve had a couple of cups of sake.” To my next question about why he became a shamisen maker he slyly retorts, “You want the feel-good story, or the real one?” Kimiaki Kono, a Tokyo shamisen craftsman, takes that image, considers it for a second, and chucks it out the window. Furrowed brow, few words, sunk in his world. Let your mind conjure the image of the stoic sullen craftsman.
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