The is a Japanese plucked half-tube zither instrument, and the national instrument of Japan. It is derived from the Chinese and , and similar to the Mongolian , the Korean and , the Vietnamese , the Sundanese and the

Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country located mainly in Central Asia and partly in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the north and west, China to the east, Kyrgyzstan to the southeast, Uzbeki ...

. Koto are roughly in length, and made from Paulownia wood ('' Paulownia tomentosa'', known as ). The most common type uses 13 strings strung over movable

bridges A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or rail) without blocking the way underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually someth ...

used for tuning, different pieces possibly requiring different tuning.

17-string koto The is a variant of the with 17 strings instead of the typical 13. The instrument is also known as , "17 stringed ", or "bass " (although with a greater number of strings also exist). The was invented in 1921 by Michio Miyagi, a musician who ...

are also common, and act as

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in the bass range: ** Bass (instrument), including: ** Acoustic bass gui ...

in ensembles. Koto strings are generally plucked using three fingerpicks (), worn on the first three fingers of the right hand.

Names and types

The character for ''koto'' is , although is often used. However, (''koto'') is the general term for all string instruments in the Japanese language,(ja
Kotobank koto
/ref> including instruments such as the , , , , , and so on. When read as , it indicates the Chinese instrument . The term is used today in the same way. The term ''koto'' appears in the in reference to an ancient string instrument in this usage. Variations of the instrument were eventually created, and eventually a few of them would become the standard variations for modern day koto. The four types of koto () were all created by different subcultures, but also adapted to change the playing style.

History

The ancestor of the koto was the Chinese . It was first introduced to Japan from China in the 7th and 8th century. The first known version had five strings, which eventually increased to seven strings. The Japanese koto belongs to the Asian zither family that also comprises the Chinese (ancestral to the other

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 ...

s in the family), the Korean , and the Vietnamese . This variety of instrument came in two basic forms, a zither that had bridges and a zither without bridges. Lady playing koto

When the koto was first imported to Japan, the native word koto was a generic term for any and all Japanese stringed instruments. As the number of different stringed instruments in Japan grew, the once-basic definition of koto could not describe the wide variety of these instruments and so the meanings changed. The or was called the , the was called the , and the ( being an older pronunciation of ) was called the or koto. The modern koto originates from the used in Japanese court music (). It was a popular instrument among the wealthy; the instrument was considered a romantic one. Some literary and historical records indicate that solo pieces for koto existed centuries before , the music of the solo koto genre, was established. According to

Japanese literature Japanese literature throughout most of its history has been influenced by cultural contact with neighboring Asian literatures, most notably China and its literature. Early texts were often written in pure Classical Chinese or , a Chinese-Japanes ...

, the koto was used as imagery and other extra music significance. In one part of '' The Tale of Genji'', the

titular character The title character in a narrative work is one who is named or referred to in the title of the work. In a performed work such as a play or film, the performer who plays the title character is said to have the title role of the piece. The title of ...

falls deeply in love with a mysterious woman whom he has never seen before, after hearing her playing the koto from a distance. The koto of the was made for the tradition, originally intended only for blind men. Women were forbidden from playing the instrument in the professional world, nor were they allowed to teach it. When these strict rules were relieved, women began to play the koto, with the exception of the , as its design for the blind led to a decline in use; other koto proved more useful. The two main koto varieties still used today are the and . These two have relatively stayed the same, with the exception of material innovations such as the use plastic, as well as modern material for the strings. The is the newest addition to the koto family, surfacing in the 19th century. It was purposefully created to extend the range of the instrument and advance the style of play. These were made with 17, 21, and 31 strings. Perhaps the most important influence on the development of koto was

Yatsuhashi Kengyo Yatsuhashi Kengyō ( 八橋検校; 1614–1685) was a Japanese musician and composer from Kyoto. The name kengyō is an honorary title given to highly skilled blind musicians. Yatsuhashi, who was born and died in Japan, was originally a p ...

(1614–1685). Yatsuhashi was a gifted blind musician from

Kyoto Kyoto (; Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in Japan. Located in the Kansai region on the island of Honshu, Kyoto forms a part of the Keihanshin metropolitan area along with Osaka and Kobe. , the c ...

who vastly extended the limited selection of only six traditional koto songs to a brand-new style of koto music which he called . Yatsuhashi changed the tunings, which were based on the older ways of tuning; and with this change, a new style of koto was born. Yatsuhashi is now known as the "Father of Modern Koto". A smaller influence in the evolution of the koto is found in the inspiration of a woman named Keiko Nosaka. Nosaka (a musician who won Grand Prize in Music from the Japanese Ministry of Culture in 2002), felt confined by playing a koto with just 13 strings, and created new versions of the instrument with 20 or more strings. Japanese developments in bridgeless zithers include the one-stringed koto () and two-stringed koto ( or ). Around the 1920s, Goro Morita created a new version of the two-stringed koto. On this koto, one would push down buttons above the metal strings like the western

autoharp An autoharp or chord zither is a string instrument belonging to the zither family. It uses a series of bars individually configured to mute all strings other than those needed for the intended chord. The term ''autoharp'' was once a trademark of ...

. It was named the after the Taishō period. At the beginning of the

Meiji Period The is an era of Japanese history that extended from October 23, 1868 to July 30, 1912. The Meiji era was the first half of the Empire of Japan, when the Japanese people moved from being an isolated feudal society at risk of colonization ...

(1868–1912), Western music was introduced to Japan.

Michio Miyagi was a Japanese musician, famous for his '' koto'' playing. He was born in Kobe. He lost his sight in 1902, when he was 8 years old, and started his study in koto under the guidance of Nakajima Kengyo II, dedicating the rest of his life to th ...

(1894–1956), a blind composer, innovator, and performer, is considered to have been the first Japanese composer to combine western music and traditional koto music. Miyagi is largely regarded as being responsible for keeping the koto alive when traditional Japanese arts were being forgotten and replaced by Westernization. He wrote over 300 new works for the instrument before his death in a

train accident Classification of railway accidents, both in terms of cause and effect, is a valuable aid in studying rail (and other) accidents to help to prevent similar ones occurring in the future. Systematic investigation for over 150 years has led to the ra ...

at the age of 62. He also invented the popular 17-string bass koto, created new playing techniques, advanced traditional forms, and most importantly increased the koto's popularity. He performed abroad and by 1928 his piece for koto and , ("Spring Sea") had been transcribed for numerous instruments. is even played to welcome each

New Year in Japan The is an annual festival with its own customs. Since 1873, the official Japanese New Year has been celebrated according to the Gregorian calendar, on January 1 of each year, . However, some traditional events of the Japanese New Year are par ...

. Since Miyagi's time, many composers such as

Kimio Eto (surname Etō, born 1924 in Ōita – died 24 December 2012) was a blind Japanese musician who played the '' koto''. He began musical training at the age of eight with the renowned master Michio Miyagi. When he was eleven, he composed his first ...

(1924–2012),

Tadao Sawai was a Japanese '' koto'' player and composer. He was renowned all over Japan for his skill at the koto and also received acclaim for his compositions. He was married to Kazue Sawai, also a koto player, and their son Hikaru Sawai is also a musicia ...

(1937–1997) have written and performed works that continue to advance the instrument. Sawai's widow

Kazue Sawai is a Japanese '' koto'' player noted for her performance of contemporary classical music and free improvisation. She began studying, at the age of eight, with Michio Miyagi. She later graduated from the Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and ...

, who as a child was Miyagi's favored disciple, has been the largest driving force behind the internationalization and modernization of the koto. Her arrangement of composer

John Cage John Milton Cage Jr. (September 5, 1912 – August 12, 1992) was an American composer and music theorist. A pioneer of indeterminacy in music, electroacoustic music, and non-standard use of musical instruments, Cage was one of the leading f ...

's prepared piano duet "

Three Dances 3 is a number, numeral, and glyph. 3, three, or III may also refer to: * AD 3, the third year of the AD era * 3 BC, the third year before the AD era * March, the third month Books * '' Three of Them'' (Russian: ', literally, "three"), a 1901 ...

" for four prepared bass koto was a landmark in the modern era of koto music. For about 150 years after the Meiji Restoration, the Japanese shirked their isolationist ideals and began to openly embrace American and European influences, the most likely explanation for why the koto has taken on many different variations of itself.

Construction

A koto is typically made of

Paulownia ''Paulownia'' ( ) is a genus of seven to 17 species of hardwood tree (depending on taxonomic authority) in the family Paulowniaceae, the order Lamiales. They are present in much of China, south to northern Laos and Vietnam and are long cultivat ...

wood (known as ), although treatment of the wood varies tremendously between artisans. A koto may or may not be adorned. Adornments include inlays of ivory and ebony, tortoise shell, metal figures, etc. The wood is also cut into two patterns, (also called ), which has a swirling pattern, or straight-lined . The straight lined pattern is easier to manufacture, so the swirl raises the cost of production, and is therefore reserved for decorative and elegant models. The body of a traditional koto is made of Paulownia wood. Every piece of the instrument comes with cultural significance, especially since the koto is the national instrument. The wood is dried and cut into precise measurements. The size of the soundboard on a standard modern koto has remained approximately , where in the past it ranged from . The bridges () used to be made of

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 i ...

, but nowadays are typically made of plastic, and occasionally made of wood. One can alter the pitch of a string by manipulating or moving the bridge. For some very low notes, there are small bridges made, as well as specialty bridges with three different heights, depending on the need of the tuning. When a small bridge is unavailable for some very low notes, some players may, as an emergency measure, use a bridge upside down, though this is unstable and not ideal. Bridges have been known to break during playing, and with some older instruments which have the surface where the bridges rest being worn due to much use, the bridges may fall during playing, especially when pressing strings. There are, of course, various sorts of patch materials sold to fill the holes which cause the legs of a bridge to rest on an unstable area. About long and wide, the koto is traditionally placed on the floor in front of the player, who kneels. The strings are made from a variety of materials. Various types of plastic strings are popular.

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 th ...

strings, typically yellow in color, are still made, despite their higher price and lower durability than modern strings; some musicians prefer them, perceiving a difference in sound quality to modern strings. The strings are tied with a half hitch to a roll of paper or cardboard, about the size of a cigarette butt, strung through the holes at the head of the koto, threaded through the holes at the back, tightened, and tied with a special knot. Strings can be tightened by a special machine, but often are tightened by hand, and then tied. One can tighten by pulling the string from behind, or sitting at the side of the koto, although the latter is much harder and requires much arm strength. Some instruments may have tuning pins (like a piano) installed, to make tuning easier. The , the silk thread used in the instrument, is a pivotal part of its construction. This feature was not seen on the speculated nobility-style instruments because they used a more tension of theirs and valued the relict nature of their instruments. The commoners did all the innovations that made the koto not only a sturdy instrument, but more sonically adept. The was used in paper so the fine silk was in abundance in Japan. As of the beginning of the 19th century, an ivory called became the standard for the koto. For every part of the koto, there is a traditional name which connects with the opinion that the body of a koto resembles that of a

dragon A dragon is a reptilian legendary creature that appears in the folklore of many cultures worldwide. Beliefs about dragons vary considerably through regions, but dragons in western cultures since the High Middle Ages have often been depicted a ...

. Thus, the top part is called the , while the bottom part is called the . One end of the koto, noticeable because of the removable colorful fabricshell, is known as the , consisting of parts such as the – the saddle of the

bridge A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or rail) without blocking the way underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually someth ...

or the – , and – the space above the . The other end of the koto is called the ; the string nut is called the .

Koto today

The influence of Western pop music has made the koto less prominent in Japan, although it is still developing as an instrument. The 17-string bass koto () has become more prominent over the years since its development by

. There are also 20-, 21-, and 25-string koto. Works are being written for 20- and 25-string koto and 17-string bass koto. Reiko Obata has also made the koto accessible to Western music readers with the publication of two books for solo koto using Western notation. The current generation of koto players, such as American performers Reiko Obata and

Miya Masaoka Miya Masaoka (born 1958, Washington, DC) is an American composer, musician, and sound artist active in the field of contemporary classical music and experimental music. Her work encompasses contemporary classical composition, improvisation, elect ...

, Japanese master

, and

Michiyo Yagi , a Japanese musician who studied koto under Tadao Sawai, Kazue Sawai and Satomi Kurauchi, and graduated from the NHK Professional Training School for Traditional Musicians. Between 1989 and 1990, during her tenure as visiting professor of m ...

, are finding places for the koto in today's

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...

experimental music Experimental music is a general label for any music or music genre that pushes existing boundaries and genre definitions. Experimental compositional practice is defined broadly by exploratory sensibilities radically opposed to, and questioning of, ...

and even

pop music Pop music is a genre of popular music that originated in its modern form during the mid-1950s in the United States and the United Kingdom. The terms ''popular music'' and ''pop music'' are often used interchangeably, although the former descri ...

. The members of the band Rin' are popular 17-string koto players in the modern music scene.

June Kuramoto June is the sixth month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian calendars and is the second of four months to have a length of 30 days, and the third of five months to have a length of less than 31 days. June contains the summer solstice in t ...

of the jazz fusion group

Hiroshima is the capital of Hiroshima Prefecture in Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 1,199,391. The gross domestic product (GDP) in Greater Hiroshima, Hiroshima Urban Employment Area, was US$61.3 billion as of 2010. Kazumi Matsui ...

was one of the first koto performers to popularize the koto in a non-traditional fusion style. Reiko Obata, founder of East West Jazz, was the first to perform and record an album of jazz standards featuring the koto. Obata also produced the first-ever English language koto instructional DVD, titled "You Can Play Koto". Obata is one of the few koto performers to perform concertos with United States orchestras, having done so on multiple occasions, including with

Orchestra Nova An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments: * bowed string instruments, such as the violin, viola, ce ...

for San Diego's KPBS in 2010. Other solo performers outside Japan include award-winning recording artist

Elizabeth Falconer Elizabeth Falconer (born July 20, 1956) is one of the few American masters of the '' koto'', a traditional zither from Japan. Unusually, she is licensed in two koto schools in Japan. She began playing the koto in 1979. She earned a ''junshihan'' (a ...

, who also studied for a decade at the

Sawai Koto School Sawai may refer to: * Sawai (surname), a Japanese surname *Sawai (title), a title of honor used in India *Sawai language, a South Halmahera language of Austronesian stock spoken in Indonesia * Sawai, Car Nicobar, a village in the Andaman and Nicoba ...

in Tokyo, and

Linda Kako Caplan Linda may refer to: As a name * Linda (given name), a female given name (including a list of people and fictional characters so named) * Linda (singer) (born 1977), stage name of Svetlana Geiman, a Russian singer * Anita Linda (born Alice Lake i ...

, Canadian (grandmaster) and member of Fukuoka's

Chikushi Koto School Chikushi can refer to: * Chikushi Station in Kyushu, Japan * 6237 Chikushi, an asteroid {{disamb ...

for over two decades. Another Sawai disciple,

Masayo Ishigure Masayo (written: 雅世 or 雅代, 政代, 正世 or 匡代) is a feminine Japanese given name. Notable people with the name include: *, Japanese swimmer *, Japanese voice actress *, Japanese synchronized swimmer and coach *, Japanese entomologist ...

, holds down a school in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

Yukiko Matsuyama Yukiko is a feminine Japanese given name. Possible writings Yukiko can be written using different combinations of kanji characters. Here are some examples: *雪子, "snow, child" *幸子, "happiness, child" *由紀子, "reason, chronicle, child" ...

leads her KotoYuki band in Los Angeles. Her compositions blend the timbres of world music with her native Japanese culture. She performed on the Grammy-winning album '' Miho: Journey to the Mountain'' (2010) by the Paul Winter Consort, garnering additional exposure to Western audiences for the instrument. In November 2011, worldwide audiences were further exposed to the koto when she performed with

Shakira Shakira Isabel Mebarak Ripoll ( , ; born 2 February 1977), professionally known by the mononym Shakira, is a Colombian singer and songwriter. Born and raised in Barranquilla, she has been referred to as the "Honorific nicknames in popular ...

at the Latin Grammy Awards. In March 2010, the koto received widespread international attention when a video linked by the Grammy Award-winning hard rock band

Tool A tool is an object that can extend an individual's ability to modify features of the surrounding environment or help them accomplish a particular task. Although many animals use simple tools, only human beings, whose use of stone tools dates b ...

on its website became a viral hit. The video showed Tokyo-based ensemble Soemon playing member Brett Larner's arrangement of the Tool song "

Lateralus ''Lateralus'' () is the third studio album by American rock band Tool. It was released on May 15, 2001, through Volcano Entertainment. The album was recorded at Cello Studios in Hollywood and The Hook, Big Empty Space, and The Lodge, in Nor ...

" for six bass and two bass koto. Larner had previously played koto with John Fahey, Jim O'Rourke, and members of indie rock groups including

Camper Van Beethoven Camper Van Beethoven is an American rock band formed in Redlands, California in 1983, later based in Santa Cruz and San Francisco. Their style mixes elements of pop, ska, punk rock, folk, alternative country, and world music. The band in ...

Deerhoof Deerhoof are an American musical group formed in San Francisco in 1994. They currently consist of founding drummer Greg Saunier, bassist and singer Satomi Matsuzaki, and guitarists John Dieterich and Ed Rodriguez. Beginning as an improvised no ...

Jackie O Motherfucker Jackie-O Motherfucker is an American experimental music group that formed in Portland, Oregon in 1994. Biography Jackie-O Motherfucker began as a duo consisting of multi-instrumentalist Tom Greenwood and saxophonist Nester Bucket. The group is a ...

, and

Mr. Bungle Mr. Bungle is an American experimental rock band formed in Eureka, California in 1985. Having gone through many incarnations throughout their career, the band is best known for music created during their most experimental era. During this time, ...

. In older pop and rock music,

David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known professionally as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer-songwriter and actor. A leading figure in the music industry, he is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the ...

used a koto in the instrumental piece "

Moss Garden Moss lawns are lawns composed of moss, which occur naturally, but can also be cultivated like grass lawns (see images). They are a defining element in moss gardens. Moss lawns are drought-tolerant and rarely need misting once established (the ...

" on his album '' "Heroes"'' (1977). The multi-instrumentalist, founder, and former guitarist of

The Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for six decades, they are one of the most popular and enduring bands of the rock era. In the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered the gritty, rhythmically dr ...

Brian Jones played the koto in the song " Take It Or Leave It" on the album '' Aftermath'' (1966).

Paul Gilbert Paul Brandon Gilbert is an American hard rock and heavy metal guitarist. He is the co-founder of the band Mr. Big, and was also a member of Racer X, with whom he released several albums. In 1996, Gilbert launched a solo career, for which h ...

, a popular

guitar virtuoso A virtuoso (from Italian ''virtuoso'' or , "virtuous", Late Latin ''virtuosus'', Latin ''virtus'', "virtue", "excellence" or "skill") is an individual who possesses outstanding talent and technical ability in a particular art or field such as fi ...

, recorded his wife Emi playing the koto on his song "Koto Girl" from the album ''Alligator Farm'' (2000). Rock band Kagrra, are well known for using traditional Japanese musical instruments in many of their songs, an example being , a song in which the koto has a prominent place. Winston Tong, the singer of Tuxedomoon, uses it on his 15-minute song "The Hunger" from his debut solo album ''

Theoretically Chinese ''Theoretically'' is an album by alto saxophonist Tim Berne and electric guitarist Bill Frisell originally released on the Empire label in 1984, and again on Minor Music in 1986 with a bonus track recorded at the original sessions. The original fea ...

'' (1985). The rock band

Queen Queen or QUEEN may refer to: Monarchy * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a Kingdom ** List of queens regnant * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Queen mother, a queen dowager who is the mother ...

used a (toy) koto in " The Prophet's Song" on their 1975 album '' A Night at the Opera''. Ex-

Genesis Genesis may refer to: Bible * Book of Genesis, the first book of the biblical scriptures of both Judaism and Christianity, describing the creation of the Earth and of mankind * Genesis creation narrative, the first several chapters of the Book of ...

guitarist

Steve Hackett Stephen Richard Hackett (born 12 February 1950) is an English musician, singer, songwriter and record producer who gained prominence as the lead guitarist of the progressive rock band Genesis from 1971 to 1977. Hackett contributed to six Genesis ...

used a koto on the instrumental song "The Red Flower of Tachai Blooms Everywhere" from the album ''

Spectral Mornings ''Spectral Mornings'' is the third studio album by English guitarist and songwriter Steve Hackett, released in May 1979 on Charisma Records. It is his first to feature members of his touring band, which many Hackett fans consider as the "class ...

'' (1979), and

keyboardist Tony Banks sampled a koto using an

Emulator In computing, an emulator is hardware or software that enables one computer system (called the ''host'') to behave like another computer system (called the ''guest''). An emulator typically enables the host system to run software or use pe ...

keyboard for the band's song "

Mama Mama(s) or Mamma or Momma may refer to: Roles *Mother, a female parent * Mama-san, in Japan and East Asia, a woman in a position of authority *Mamas, a name for female associates of the Hells Angels Places * Mama, Russia, an urban-type settlemen ...

". A koto played by Hazel Payne is featured in

A Taste of Honey ''A Taste of Honey'' is the first play by the British dramatist Shelagh Delaney, written when she was 19. It was intended as a novel, but she turned it into a play because she hoped to revitalise British theatre and address social issues that ...

's 1981 English cover of the Japanese song " Sukiyaki". A synthesized koto appears in their cover of

The Miracles The Miracles (also known as Smokey Robinson and the Miracles from 1965 to 1972) were an American vocal group that was the first successful recording act for Berry Gordy's Motown Records, and one of the most important and most influential group ...

' " I'll Try Something New". Steve Howe used a koto in the instrumental break of

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 are ...

's single " Heat of the Moment", from their self-titled 1982 album. Howe also played a koto on the

Yes Yes or YES may refer to: * An affirmative particle in the English language; see yes and no Education * YES Prep Public Schools, Houston, Texas, US * YES (Your Extraordinary Saturday), a learning program from the Minnesota Institute for Talent ...

song "It Will Be a Good Day (The River)", from the 1999 album ''

The Ladder A ladder is a runged climbing aid. Ladder, The Ladder, or Ladders may also refer to: Art, entertainment and media Film and television * "Ladders" (''Community''), the first episode of the sixth season of the sitcom ''Community'' * ''Ladders'', a ...

''.

Dr. Dre Andre Romelle Young (born February 18, 1965), known professionally as Dr. Dre, is an American rapper and record producer. He is the founder and CEO of Aftermath Entertainment and Beats Electronics, and previously co-founded, co-owned, and w ...

's 1999 album ''

2001 The September 11 attacks against the United States by Al-Qaeda, which killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror, were a defining event of 2001. The United States led a multi-national coalition in an invasion of Afghanist ...

'' prominently features a synthesized koto on two of its tracks, "

Still D.R.E. "Still D.R.E." is a song by American rapper-producer Dr. Dre, featuring fellow American rapper Snoop Dogg. It was released on November 2, 1999 as the lead single from Dre's multi-platinum second studio album, ''2001'' (1999). The single itself w ...

" and "The Message". A 2020 acoustic cover of

Led Zeppelin Led Zeppelin were an English rock band formed in London in 1968. The group comprised vocalist Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham. With a heavy, guitar-driven sound, they are ...

's "

The Battle of Evermore "The Battle of Evermore" is a folk duet sung by Robert Plant and Sandy Denny, featured on Led Zeppelin's untitled 1971 album, commonly known as ''Led Zeppelin IV''. The song's instrumentation features acoustic guitar and mandolin playing, while ...

" by PianoRock feat. Dean McNeill also prominently features a synthesized koto.

Recordings

* / ALM Records ALCD-76 (2008)

Notes

References

*Edmonds, Richard Louis et al
"Japan". Grove Art Online. Oxford Art Online. July 30, 2008.
*Johnson, H. (2004)
''The Koto: A Traditional Instrument in Contemporary Japan.''
Amsterdam: Hotei. *Malm, W. P. (2000). ''Traditional Japanese Music and Musical Instruments.'' (Rev. ed.). New York, NY: Kodansha International. *Sachs, C. (1940). ''The History of Musical Instruments.'' New York, NY: W. W. Norton & Company. Inc. Publishers.

External links

The Metropolitan Museum of Art The Metropolitan Museum of Art of New York City, colloquially "the Met", is the largest art museum in the Americas. Its permanent collection contains over two million works, divided among 17 curatorial departments. The main building at 1000 ...

Koto no Koto
– Koto no koto: the website with general information {{DEFAULTSORT:Koto Zithers Japanese musical instruments Koto players Japanese words and phrases