Nounlingulate brachiopod (esp. species Lingula anatina)

Nounbridge of shamisen

Numeric, Prefixone; 1 · best · first; foremost

Nouncat (esp. the domestic cat, Felis catus); feline · shamisen · geisha

Nounbox; case; chest; package; pack; crate · car (of a train, etc.) · shamisen case; shamisen

Nounfloor · stage (for the narrator and the shamisen player) · dining platform built across a river

Nounrod; pole · neck (of a shamisen, etc.); shamisen · beam (i.e. the crossbar of a balance)

Nounpot; jar; vase · dice cup · depression; basin (e.g. of a waterfall)

Nountrunk; torso; body; abdomen; waist · plastron (in kendo); touching the plastron (kimari-te in kendo) · frame (of a drum, etc.); sound box (of a shamisen, etc.); hull (of a ship)

Nounbowstring · string (of shamisen, guitar, violin, etc.) · bail (arched pot handle)

Nounone leaf (of a book bound in Japanese style) · one block of tofu; one serving (in a restaurant) · one long and narrow thing (e.g. a gun, scissors, spade, hoe, inkstick, palanquin, candle, jinrikisha, shamisen, oar)

Nounheavenly god; heavenly gods · spirit of Sugawara no Michizane · Tenmangu shrine (dedicated to Michizane's spirit)

Nounlong epic song with shamisen accompaniment (developed in Edo in the early 17th century)

Nounone's normal condition; one's usual state · keynote (esp. shamisen); proper key

Countercounter for long and narrow things (e.g. guns, spades, hoes, oars, ink sticks, candles, abacuses, kitchen knives, scissors, shamisen, violins); counter for palanquins, rickshaws, and similar vehicles

Nounplectrum (for a shamisen, biwa, etc.); pick · drumstick (for taiko); mallet (for a gong); beater

Nounstring (of a shamisen, etc.) · stringed instrument

Nounbowstring · string (of a shamisen, etc.); stringed instrument · chord

Nounblind female beggar who sings or plays shamisen

Nounposition on the fingerboard (of a shamisen, koto, etc.) · vital point; crux

Nounshamisen; samisen · sanxian (Chinese lute) · the three string instruments used in gagaku (biwa, wagon and sou)

Noun, Noun which may take the genitive case particle 'no'pigeon chest (deformity of the chest, protruding ribs and sternum); pigeon breast; pectus carinatum · woman with big breasts · iron armor with protruding chest

Nounmusical (dramatic) piece in several acts; type of koto solo; lively type of shamisen song

Nounvar. of folksong; var. of koto or shamisen music; medley of (Japanese) songs

Nounkouta; traditional ballad accompanied by shamisen

Nounbox maker · man who carries a geisha's shamisen

Nounace up one's sleeve; trump card · basic melody (esp. on koto and shamisen) · proper move; appropriate move

Nountraditional performing arts (e.g. shamisen, koto, dance, etc.); accomplishments

Nounsanshin; Okinawan traditional three-stringed instrument; precursor to the shamisen

Nounpegbox (of a shamisen, etc.)

Nounpick-guard (protective patch on a shamisen, etc.)

Nounnut (on the head of a shamisen, supporting the second and third strings)

Nountuning peg (on a biwa or shamisen)

Nountuning peg (on a biwa or shamisen)

Nountuning peg (on a biwa or shamisen)

Noungroove in a shamisen player's fingernail caused by the friction of the string of the instrument · someone's ability to play the shamisen

Nounwoman who earns her living by entertaining with song, dance and playing the shamisen; geisha who sings at parties

Noungeisha; woman who entertains (e.g. by playing the shamisen) for her living

Nountraditional Japanese poem with verses of five and seven morae repeated at least three times, usu. ending with a verse of seven · long epic song with shamisen accompaniment (developed in Kyoto in the late 16th century)

Nounbreast · rounded part on the upper end of shamisen neck

Nounshamisen; samisen; three-stringed Japanese lute

Noungroove in a shamisen player's fingernail caused by the friction of the string of the instrument

Nounbackside part of the shamisen's neck where it meets the body

Nounmisuji (cut of beef, usu. from the chuck) · shamisen; samisen

Nounshamisen with a thick neck

Nounshamisen with a thin neck

Nounshamisen with a medium-sized neck

Nounjōruri; type of dramatic recitation accompanied by a shamisen (associated with Japanese puppet theater)

Nounslow-paced style of shamisen music with vocal accompaniment (popular during the late Edo period)