The is a Japanese single-stringed plucked

zither Zithers (; , from the Greek word ''cithara'') are a class of stringed instruments. Historically, the name has been applied to any instrument of the psaltery family, or to an instrument consisting of many strings stretched across a thin, flat bo ...

. Its body is a slender, slightly curved plank carved from ''kiri'' (''

Paulownia tomentosa ''Paulownia tomentosa'', common names princess tree, empress tree, or foxglove-tree, is a deciduous hardwood tree in the family Paulowniaceae, native to central and western China. It is an extremely fast-growing tree with seeds that disperse rea ...

'') wood. Its raw

silk Silk is a natural protein fiber, some forms of which can be woven into textiles. The protein fiber of silk is composed mainly of fibroin and is produced by certain insect larvae to form cocoons. The best-known silk is obtained from the coc ...

string is plucked with a tubular

plectrum A plectrum is a small flat tool used for plucking or strumming of a stringed instrument. For hand-held instruments such as guitars and mandolins, the plectrum is often called a pick and is held as a separate tool in the player's hand. In harpsic ...

placed on the index finger of the right hand while a tubular

ivory Ivory is a hard, white material from the tusks (traditionally from elephants) and teeth of animals, that consists mainly of dentine, one of the physical structures of teeth and tusks. The chemical structure of the teeth and tusks of mammals is ...

device similar to a guitar slide placed over the middle finger of the left hand slightly depresses the string—though not so hard that it presses against the hardwood soundboard—to vary the pitch. Both the plectrum and slide are referred to as ''rokan.'' As with the Chinese

guqin The ''guqin'' (; ) is a plucked seven-string Chinese musical instrument. It has been played since ancient times, and has traditionally been favoured by scholars and literati as an instrument of great subtlety and refinement, as highlighted b ...

, from which it was likely originally adapted, the ''ichigenkin'' has no frets, so sliding tones are an important part of the technique of the instrument. Traditionally, the ''ichigenkin'' is used to accompany traditional singing, although there are also purely instrumental works in its repertoire. The instrument was once popular among

samurai were the hereditary military nobility and officer caste of medieval and early-modern Japan from the late 12th century until their abolition in 1876. They were the well-paid retainers of the '' daimyo'' (the great feudal landholders). They h ...

, literati, and priests, but today players of the instrument are very rare. The only unbroken line of ichigenkin transmission is Seikyodo Ichigenkin, whose current ''

Iemoto is a Japanese term used to refer to the founder or current Grand Master of a certain school of traditional Japanese art. It is used synonymously with the term when it refers to the family or house that the iemoto is head of and represents. Th ...

'' (hereditary Grand Master) is Issui Minegishi. Minegishi performs widely in

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

, and

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an area ...

, and occasionally with Canadian multi-instrumentalist

Randy Raine-Reusch Randy Raine-Reusch (born 1952) is a Canadian composer, performer, improviser, and multi-instrumentalist specializing in New and Experimental Music for instruments from around the world, particularly those from East and Southeast Asia. Research ...

, perhaps the only non-Japanese ichigenkin performer, who composes and records new works for the instrument. A two-string version called a ''yakumogoto'' (八雲琴, literally "eight cloud zither") was developed in 1820 by Nakayama Kotonushi. This instrument had a closed back resonant body and a bridge at either end of the strings. The ''yakumogoto'' has become strongly associated with the

Shinto Shinto () is a religion from Japan. Classified as an East Asian religion by scholars of religion, its practitioners often regard it as Japan's indigenous religion and as a nature religion. Scholars sometimes call its practitioners ''Shintois ...

religion. An open-backed two string version, called the ''azuma-ryu nigenkin'' (Eastern school two string zither) was invented in the latter half of the 19th century by Tosha Rosen to perform popular pieces of the time.Rowe, Charles Edward. ''The Role Of Music In Omoto, A Japanese New Religion''. School of Oriental and African Studies, Unpublished. p. 133. This version is often simply referred to as ''nigenkin'', literally "two-string zither". A three strings version called ''sangenkin'' (三弦琴) was developed in 19th century.

References

External links

Ichigenkin.comIchigenkin page on ASZA websiteSeikyodo Ichigenkin page (in Japanese)
Japanese musical instruments Monochords Zithers {{zither-instrument-stub

See also

References

External links