is a percussion musical instrument from the

Okinawa Islands The Okinawa Islands ( or ) are an island group in Okinawa Prefecture, Japan and are the principal island group of the prefecture. The Okinawa Islands are part of the larger Ryukyu Islands group and are located between the Amami Islands of Ka ...

. The name itself means "three slabs" or "three boards/planks," and it consists of three shards 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 ...

or other woods that are bound together by twine.Sanba: Okinawa Daihyakka 沖縄大百科
It produces a variety of clicking sounds similar to that of

castanets Castanets, also known as ''clackers'' or ''palillos'', are a percussion instrument (idiophone), used in Spanish, Kalo, Moorish, Ottoman, Italian, Sephardic, Swiss, and Portuguese music. In ancient Greece and ancient Rome there was a simil ...

. It is played by placing the shards between the fingers of one hand, while using the other hand to flick the pieces of wood together. It can be played at slow or fast rhythms, depending on the musical genre. It is often heard in Okinawan folk music.

References

{{Traditional Japanese musical instruments Okinawan music