Beginnings as a Sanshin Artisan and the First Hurdle

Nakamine seriously began his journey as a sanshin artisan around the age of 19. His father was also a sanshin maker, so Nakamine had been around the workshop since childhood. But the transition from a daily-wage helper to a salaried craftsman presented a steep learning curve.

The first step in making a sanshin is "kidori"—cutting the timber for the neck from a raw log. This demands a keen eye for the wood grain and knots to choose the best section and prevent future warping. It's a puzzle with countless solutions, and one wrong move means wasting precious ebony.

The young Nakamine was in awe of his father's speed and precision. A neck his father could carve in 20 to 30 minutes took Nakamine over eight hours, and he still wasn't happy with the result. By trying to be overly "careful," he often shaved off too much, making one mistake after another. He remembers the sharp frustration of realizing that in a typical company, he'd be an employee running at a loss.

Determined to close the skill gap, he took three days off from work. He knelt beside his father's workbench and simply watched his hands, studying them intently. The angle of the chisel, the application of force, the sequence of the process—he documented it all in a notebook, complete with diagrams, and asked questions on the spot. This intense spirit of inquiry, this drive to turn implicit, unspoken technique into "transferable knowledge," laid the groundwork for his future data-driven reforms.

A Judge's Comment That Transformed His Career as an Artisan

While honing his skills as a craftsman, Nakamine faced a turning point that would define his career. It happened when the Okinawa Prefecture Sanshin Manufacturing Business Cooperative was established and held its first-ever competition. With over 60 instruments submitted from shops across the prefecture, Nakamine entered a sanshin he crafted in the 'Nakamine family style' passed down from his father.

At the time, the prevailing trend in these competitions was to reward faithful reproductions of classical sanshin based on blueprints of designated cultural properties. One judge tried to dismiss Nakamine's piece as non-standard because it didn't adhere to the blueprints. However, two performers who were also serving as judges voiced their dissent. "Simply following the blueprints isn't the only right answer. This piece shows undeniable skill and aesthetic sensibility," they praised. A special Judges' Award, which hadn't been planned, was quickly created.

At the awards ceremony, the head of the judging committee told him, "I never imagined someone so young could create this. I sense the skill of a future contemporary master craftsman. Keep up the good work with confidence."

These words not only boosted his confidence as an artisan but also completely changed his standing within the industry. It was the moment a young man, previously seen only as 'the son of a sanshin maker,' was recognized as a skilled craftsman in his own right. This event led to his recommendation for director, and then secretary-general, of the cooperative, where he would begin tackling challenges facing the entire industry. This meant he had to learn a completely different set of skills, moving beyond just honing his personal craft to include building an organizational foundation and handling external negotiations.

Modernizing the Cooperative, Starting with Izakaya Meetings

However, his path as secretary-general was anything but smooth. Initially, the cooperative didn't even have an office; meetings were typically held in an izakaya (a Japanese-style pub). When drinks were involved, discussions would heat up, and it wasn't uncommon for meetings to break up without reaching any constructive conclusions. Uniting the strong-willed artisans and making decisions as an organization required painstaking coordination, like laying groundwork behind the scenes and persuading individuals one-on-one.

One of the first major tasks Nakamine took on after becoming secretary-general was the application process to have the sanshin designated as a national "Traditional Craft." To receive this designation, they had to objectively prove that its techniques and methods had been passed down for over 100 years. However, in war-torn Okinawa, much of the pre-war documentation had been lost.

The Okinawa Prefecture Sanshin Manufacturing Business Cooperative (hereafter, the Sanshin Cooperative) conducted interviews with artisans and unearthed old family trees and newspaper articles. In the process, working with experts, they made a key discovery: a description, 'Mō-uji' (the Mō clan), found on an old sanshin in a museum, matched the family tree of a long-established sanshin shop. By cross-referencing this with old maps, they successfully proved that sanshin had been crafted since before the war. This cumulative research paid off, leading to the Okinawan sanshin's designation as a national Traditional Craft.

More recently, to deepen the understanding of the sanshin's timbre, the cooperative has been conducting joint research with Yamaha Corporation.

For example, one area of focus is the method for interpreting the tension of the snakeskin. In the world of sanshin, there are expressions based on a craftsman's experience, like '8-bu bari' (80% tension) or '9-bu bari' (90% tension), but the standards for these are not always consistent. To bridge these sensory gaps, efforts are underway to measure the frequency of the sound when the skin is tapped, exploring whether the state of tension can be visualized.

This initiative isn't meant to negate an artisan's intuition; rather, it aims to create a 'measuring stick' to serve as a common language. The hope is that this will enable even less experienced artisans to ensure a consistent level of quality and provide new clues for achieving the ideal tone, even amid material constraints. Trials are still ongoing.

An Animistic View of Craft: “Well-Born”

A unique spirituality is deeply embedded in Okinawan crafts. A prime example is the phrase “Yūnmari tōn,” which a senior artisan might say when evaluating a sanshin made by an apprentice.

“‘Yūnmari tōn’ means ‘it was well-born.’ We don’t say, ‘You made it well,’ but rather, ‘It was born well.’ This isn’t about an artisan's ego; it's about reverence for the materials—the wood and nature itself. The sentiment is that the sanshin ‘was born into this world,’ and the artisan simply acted as a midwife to its creation.”

This phrase reveals the influence of nature worship (animism) deeply rooted in Okinawa. The rule against stepping over materials or tools isn't just a matter of good manners; it stems from the belief that every object has a soul.

The sanshin is an instrument that originated in China and was later uniquely transformed and established within the Okinawan landscape. It’s a symbol of “chanpurū culture”—the art of welcoming foreign cultures and elevating them into something uniquely their own. For Nakamine, this “Okinawan-ness” is the very heart of the tradition he seeks to protect.

A Polarizing Market and the Quest for New Value

Today, the sanshin market is facing a sharp divide. On one end, low-cost sanshins, mostly made overseas, are readily available online. On the other, high-quality instruments handcrafted by artisans from raw wood are treasured as premium craft items.

“Historically, crafting these affordable sanshins was the training ground for aspiring young artisans. But as that production moved overseas, this crucial stepping stone—where young artisans could hone their skills while making a living—has disappeared. It's a critical challenge that threatens the future of the sanshin-making industry.”

To tackle this, the Sanshin Cooperative launched innovative cross-industry collaborations, like the “Awamori Sanshin” project. Partnering with awamori distillers, they created stylish sanshins designed to mimic the spirit's distinctive bottle labels and colors. The project was a hit, creating fresh opportunities for the younger generation of artisans.

“We faced some criticism for ‘breaking tradition,’ but taking on new challenges is essential to create work for our young artisans.”