The is a traditional Japanese
string instrument
String instruments, stringed instruments, or chordophones are musical instruments that produce sound from vibrating strings when a performer plays or sounds the strings in some manner.
Musicians play some string instruments by plucking the ...
, the only one played with a
bow. A variant of the instrument also exists in
Okinawa
is a prefecture of Japan. Okinawa Prefecture is the southernmost and westernmost prefecture of Japan, has a population of 1,457,162 (as of 2 February 2020) and a geographic area of 2,281 km2 (880 sq mi).
Naha is the capital and largest city ...
, called in
Okinawan.
The , like the , has its origins in Okinawa. Although it is similar to Chinese , it actually came to Okinawa via the from Indonesia and Malaysia.
The instrument is similar in construction to the , appearing as a smaller version of that instrument. It is tall, with a neck made of
ebony
Ebony is a dense black/brown hardwood, coming from several species in the genus ''Diospyros'', which also contains the persimmons. Unlike most woods, ebony is dense enough to sink in water. It is finely textured and has a mirror finish when pol ...
and a hollow body made of
coconut
The coconut tree (''Cocos nucifera'') is a member of the palm tree family ( Arecaceae) and the only living species of the genus ''Cocos''. The term "coconut" (or the archaic "cocoanut") can refer to the whole coconut palm, the seed, or the ...
or ''
Styrax japonicus
, also known as the Japanese snowbell, is a species of flowering plant in the family (botany), family Styracaceae, native species, native to Korea, Japan, and Southern China. Growing to tall by broad, it is a graceful, spreading deciduous tree ...
'' wood, covered on both ends with cat skin (or snakeskin in Okinawa). In Okinawa, the body is round, while in mainland Japan, it is square like a . It has three (or, more rarely, four) strings and is played upright, with a horsehair-strung bow bowing the strings. It is often tuned the same as a but an octave higher. In central Japan, the was formerly used as an integral part of the ensemble, along with the and , but beginning in the 20th century the began to play the role previously filled by the .
Since
Shinei Matayoshi, a and musician and maker, invented and popularized a four-stringed version of the in order to expand the instrument's range, the has become much more popular. A society, dedicated to promoting the instrument, exists in Japan.
The has also been used in jazz and blues, with the American multi-instrumentalist Eric Golub pioneering the instrument's use in these non-traditional contexts. One of the few non-Japanese performers of the instrument, he has recorded as a soloist as well as with the cross-cultural jazz band of
John Kaizan Neptune
John Kaizan Neptune (born November 13, 1951 in Oakland, California, United States) is an American player and builder of the shakuhachi (Japanese bamboo flute). He is known particularly for his use of the instrument in non-traditional contexts, ...
.
The is similar to two Chinese bowed lutes with fingerboards: the and the . In Japanese, the term may refer broadly to any bowed string instrument of Asian origin, as does the Chinese term . Thus, the Chinese , which is also used by some performers in Japan, is sometimes described as a , along with the , , and . The specific Japanese name for is .
See also
*
*
*
*
*
*
References
External links
Co-Q.com(Japanese)
Listening
(click small white stars to listen to individual tracks)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kokyu
Bowed instruments
Drumhead lutes
Japanese musical instruments
Japanese words and phrases