. "The shamisen or samisen (\u4E09\u5473\u7DDA, literally \"three strings\"), also called sangen (\u4E09\u7D43, literally \"three strings\"), is a three-stringed, Japanese musical instrument derived from the Chinese instrument sanxian. It is played with a plectrum called a bachi. The Japanese pronunciation is usually \"shamisen\" but sometimes \"jamisen\" when used as a suffix (e.g., Tsugaru-jamisen)."@en . .