Koto (musical instrument)

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For the special ward located in Tokyo, Japan, see Koto, Tokyo.

Image:KotoPlayer.jpg The koto (Japanese: 箏, Sino-Japanese reading "sō"; more commonly, thought not quite correctly, the character 琴, Sino-Japanese reading "kin" is used) is a traditional stringed musical instrument from Japan resembling a zither.

Koto are about 180 cm long and have 13 strings that are strung tautly across 13 movable bridges along the length of the instrument. Players make base pitches by moving these bridges before playing, and use three finger picks (on thumb, forefinger, and middle finger) to pluck the strings.

The koto was introduced to Japan in the 7th to 8th century from China, and largely derived from the Chinese guzheng. It was initially played only in the royal court, but this situation changed in the 17th century -- primarily because of the influence of one man: Yatsuhashi Kengyo (1614-1684).

Yatsuhashi Kengyo was a blind shamisen player who learned koto from an "official" court player named Hosui, in defiance of the rules which then stated that koto could not be taught to blind people (or women, incidentally). Possibly because of his personal experience with these restrictions, Yatsuhashi spent the rest of his life making the koto more accessible.

He invented a new "plain tuning" (hira jōshi) to play the common peoples' songs more naturally. He composed (or is credited with composing) songs that are still irreplaceable staples of the koto repertoire today, including Rokudan and Midare. (These compositions were partly responsible for the koto becoming respected as a solo instrument in its own right.) Perhaps most importantly, his example led other non-elite, including women, to learn the koto too.

Since the Japanese music scene was made over in Western pop music's image, the koto has become less prominent (although many well-to-do young women learn the instrument to help develop an aura of "refinement" that will theoretically attract a better class of husband). However, it is still developing as an instrument; works are written for and performed on 20-stringed and bass kotos, and a new generation of players such as Sawai Kazue, Yagi Michiyo (who studied under Sawai) are finding places for the koto in today's jazz, pop and even experimental music. Performers outside of Japan include koto master and award-winning recording artist Elizabeth Falconer, who also studied for a decade at the esteemed Sawai Koto School in Tokyo, as well as koto master Linda Kako Caplan, the sole Canadian representative of Fukuoka's Chikushi Koto School for over two decades.

Koto also come in larger sizes, the most popular of which is the 17-string bass koto.

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External links

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