It is said that the Satsuma biwa was made by Ryoko FUCHIWAKI, a blind priest in Satsuma, who worked actively in the 16th century, when he was called by Tadayoshi SHIMAZU, a feudal lord at that time, and was ordered to compose Biwa uta (Biwa song) with educational poems and modify the instrument to inspire morals of samurai.
薩摩琵琶は16世紀に活躍した薩摩の盲僧、淵脇了公が時の領主、島津忠良に召され、命を受けて、武士の士気向上のため、新たに教育的な歌詞の琵琶歌を作曲し、楽器を改良したのが始まりと言われる。