Those Snow White Notes

Sawamura Matsugorou, the grandfather of a young Tsugaru shamisen player, Sawamura Setsu, has died. In losing the grandfather whom he'd always admired, Setsu has lost his own sound, and so he has gone to Tokyo with no plans other than to search for what he's lost. When he gets caught up in some trouble, he's saved by Tachiki Yuna, a woman who works at a hostess club. Events progress, and Setsu ends up unveiling his musical skills as the opening act for a live concert...

Setsu's unconventional mother, Sawamura Umeko, has suddenly descended and forced him to enroll at Umezono Academy. In helping to assemble a shamisen which has lain long disused, he meets Maeda Shuri, a girl in the same grade as him. While all this is going on, Setsu reunites with his older brother, who he hasn't seen in a while, and they play shamisen together...