In modern versions of the instrument, the neck of the shamisen is equipped with an adjustment device that allows the player to raise or lower the 1st string at will, thereby adjusting the quality of the "sawari."
The device itself is often called "sawari" by shamisen players and makers.
The make of the instrument is such that the strings are stopped by pulling them between frets that are raised centimeters from the neck of the instrument, allowing the player to create the desired sawari effect at each fret.
Thus, players began to use oversized plectrums for the shamisen instead of the fingers, and the 1st string was purposely laid lower at the nut of the instrument so that it purposely vibrated against the wood of the instrument, producing the desired buzzing sound quality.
Japanese composer Toru Takemitsu has written that the term sawari may signify both "to touch" and "obstacle," and suggests that the sawari may be taken as "an intentional inconvenience that creates a part of the expressiveness of the sound.