DaFAQ: Why Kouki Darkens (Shamisen)

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If you've been looking into the types of materials used for shamisen, you may have heard about kouki wood. Despite being considered a "traditional" wood for shamisen, it wasn't actually used until roughly the 1960s. Anyway, this is quite an interesting story which will be discussed another time!
For now, a very interesting (to few people) aspect of kouki wood is the way it's color dramatically changes from striking red to very dark red/brown over time. I've always heard that, like other woods, it's due to oxidization. In order to verify that claim, I had to get a chunk and check it out!
What was the result? Watch and find out!