It can be a tall order to pick out something that most beautifully represents Japanese culture, but perhaps two selections that would find little argument are sakura, Japanese cherry blossoms, and the shamisen, an instrument that can make wonderful traditional music. While either one would be splendid in its own right, when you put the two together then you might just have something that trumps all else. And that's exactly what took place when these two awesome shamisen players put on a captivating performance under beautiful cherry blossom trees in Japan.

The video comes courtesy of Norm from Shamisen in Tokyo, a YouTube channel that shares inspiring shamisen performances from Japan. The two amazing players featured in the video are a Tsugaru Shamisen band called Ki&Ki (輝&輝), comprised of Shirafuji Hikari and Takeda Kanami, also known as the Tsugaru Shamisen Girls.

The Tsugaru Shamisen (津軽三味線) is a larger shamisen with a thicker neck called the Futozao, that originated from Aomori prefecture and is notable for its sharp and hard-striking sounds. Those bold and moving sounds are definitely on display in this enthralling performance, that in someways is as good as a flight to Japan itself.

Such an intense performance, carried out in an artistic manner that looks almost effortless has us craving more. Fortunately, the video channel has plenty of performances by Ki&Ki, like the one below.

Norm's Instagram account also features some intense recitals such as this masterful one.

So if you like what you hear, be sure to follow Shamisen in Tokyo, as well as the super-talented girls from Ki&Ki.