Technical Contributions to the Preservation of Okinawa Sanshin Culture

Yamaha is a proud participant in the “Okinawa Sanshin Cultural Preservation Project”, a collaborative initiative involving the Okinawa Prefectural Sanshin Craftsmen Cooperative Association, the University of the Ryukyus, the Okinawa Prefectural University of Arts, the Okinawa Prefectural Museum & Art Museum, and the Tokyo National Research Institute for Cultural Properties, which serves as the project’s advisor.

The project aims to address significant societal challenges—such as the depletion of materials and the shortage of skilled successors—by conducting scientific analyses of sanshin materials, sound characteristics, and artisan techniques.

Through this initiative, Yamaha recognizes the potential of its research into “products” (instruments) and “people” (Kansei) to contribute to solving regional cultural challenges. We believe that the outcomes of collaborative research and co-creation possess a high level of universality. These results, derived from the sanshin, its surrounding culture, and the craftsmen and performers, can also be applied to other instruments and fields.

For more details about our efforts, please visit the link below on Yamaha’s official website.

What an Instrument Manufacturer Can Do for Society: Unraveling Okinawan Sanshin Culture Through Objects and People
https://www.yamaha.com/ja/stories/for-our-future/okinawa-sanshin-cultural-heritage/

The Okinawan Sanshin Culture Preservation Project—Technical Contribution and Co-Creation—has been certified as “This is MECENAT 2025” (in Japanese)
https://www.yamaha.com/ja/tech-design/research/news/25_mesenat/