Violin Day

What Is Violin Day?

Every August 28th is "Violin Day" (バイオリンの日, Baiorin no Hi) in Japan. On August 28, 1880, Matsunaga Sadajiro (松永定次郎), a shamisen craftsman in Fukagawa, Tokyo, completed the first violin ever made in Japan. It marks the day when a Japanese craftsman's skills produced a new instrument at a time when Western instruments were still rare in the country.

A Shamisen Craftsman's Challenge

The history of violin making in Japan began with one craftsman teaching himself.

• Self-taught, working from a model: Matsunaga was never taught how to make a violin. He is said to have built his using a violin owned by someone connected with the Russian Orthodox Church in Tokyo as his model.
• Both are string instruments: The shamisen is plucked with a plectrum and the violin is played with a bow, but both produce sound from strings and a wooden body. A craftsman's woodworking skills and ear for sound were put to use in making an unfamiliar instrument.

What Came Next for Japanese Violins

After Matsunaga, Suzuki Masakichi of Nagoya began making violins in the Meiji era and spread domestically made violins through factory production. His son, Suzuki Shin'ichi, later devised the "Suzuki Method," in which children learn music the way they learn their native language, and this teaching approach spread overseas as well.

Fun Facts About the Violin

• The smallest of its family: The violin family includes the violin, viola, cello and double bass. The violin is the smallest and covers the highest range.
• Bow hair from horses' tails: Bows are strung with horsetail hair. Strings were traditionally made from sheep gut, and today synthetic strings such as steel and nylon are also widely used.
• No frets: Unlike a guitar, the fingerboard has no frets, so players find each pitch by ear and feel.
• Centuries-old instruments still in use: Violins made by Stradivari in Italy in the 17th and 18th centuries, known as "Stradivarius" violins, are still played by top performers. The violin's basic shape has barely changed since then.
• Arrived in Japan in the 16th century: Luis Frois's "History of Japan" records that bowed string instruments of the violin's kind had already reached Japan by the mid-16th century, and that missionaries taught them to Japanese children.

Tips for Marking This Day

• Listen to your favorite violin pieces, or film scores and pop songs that feature the violin
• Look up upcoming concerts and plan to hear the instrument live
• Compare Japanese and Western instruments, such as the shamisen and the violin
• Try a trial lesson at a music shop and draw a bow across the strings yourself

A Craftsman's Curiosity Began Japan's Violin History

August 28th is the day a Meiji-era shamisen craftsman, working from a single model, built Japan's first violin. His curiosity in tackling an unfamiliar structure led to the violin making and music education of Japan today. Today, why not listen to the violin and remember the fun of taking on something new?