Koto – National Instrument of Japan

Koto (箏) is a stringed instrument that came to Japan, via China, in the 7th or maybe 8th century. In its beginnings it had only five strings, then it went on to have seven and when it arrived in Japan, it already had 12 strings, which increased to 13 strings. It is considered the National Instrument of Japan.

 (You can watch the video of this post or continue reading below)

It was a very popular instrument among the nobility of Ancient Japan. It is often found in the poetry and novels of these periods as part of the aesthetics of the time. At that time, a person who knew how to play the koto well was considered very attractive as the performance reflected their beauty as a person.

The koto was first used in Japan in the Nara period (710 to 794 AD) in court music performances. In the Heian period (794 to 1185) it was used to accompany singers of folk songs, while during the medieval period (1185 to 1392) it was used as a solo instrument and as an accompaniment to Buddhist ritual chanting.

As the koto grew in popularity as a solo instrument, new traditional musical styles, sometimes including vocals, were developed for the instrument. In the Edo period (1603 to 1868), the koto became the favorite instrument of urban merchants.

Over the years, musicians contributed improvements and innovations to the instrument and the best known was Yatsuhashi Kengyo (1614-1685) who introduced a new style of koto music which he called kumi uta . Thanks to this innovation Yatsuhashi Kengyo is known as the ” Father of “Modern Koto “

In its construction, the koto is about 160 cm to 200 cm long and about 20 cm wide . It is made of Paulownia wood (like Ash wood) and the strings are tied on movable bridges at each end of the body. The movable bridges are for tuning the instrument and the strings have the same size and tension.

To play the koto, “picks” are usually used, which are carried on the fingers of the right hand while the left hand bends the strings to give other sound effects.

In the beginning, most koto players were blind people, so there was no need to have a written musical score keeping the repertoire in the memory of the players who passed it by word of mouth to their disciples.

Today, the Koto is played in various ways: as a solo instrument, in a multi- koto ensemble, in a duet with a shakuhachi or shamisen , and even together with both! ^^

Next, a video in which you can listen to this beautiful instrument. We hope you enjoy it! ^^