FEATURE: Shamisen faces crisis head-on as cat skins fall from favor

FEATURE: Shamisen faces crisis head-on as cat skins fall from favor

A woman plays a shamisen during a performance of the "Nagauta Samon-kai" at Uchisaiwaicho Hall in Tokyo on Dec. 16, 2016. The three-stringed instrument is facing a crisis amid a backlash over its use of cat and dog skins to cover its body and a decline in craftsmen able to carry on its manufacturing traditions. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

FEATURE: Shamisen faces crisis head-on as cat skins fall from favor

FEATURE: Shamisen faces crisis head-on as cat skins fall from favor

Sakichi Kineya (2nd from R) plays the shamisen during a performance of the "Nagauta Samon-kai" on Dec. 16, 2016. The three-stringed instrument is facing a crisis amid a backlash over its use of cat and dog skins to cover its body and a decline in craftsmen able to carry on its manufacturing traditions. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

FEATURE: Shamisen faces crisis head-on as cat skins fall from favor

FEATURE: Shamisen faces crisis head-on as cat skins fall from favor

A man plays a shamisen during a performance of the "Nagauta Samon-kai" at Uchisaiwaicho Hall in Tokyo on Dec. 16, 2016. The three-stringed instrument is facing a crisis amid a backlash over its use of cat and dog skins to cover its body and a decline in craftsmen able to carry on its manufacturing traditions. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

FEATURE: Shamisen faces crisis head-on as cat skins fall from favor

FEATURE: Shamisen faces crisis head-on as cat skins fall from favor

Shamisen players from the "Nagauta samon-kai" troupe perform at Uchisaiwaicho Hall in Tokyo on Dec. 16, 2016. The three-stringed instrument is facing a crisis amid a backlash over its use of cat and dog skins to cover its body and a decline in craftsmen able to carry on its manufacturing traditions. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo