The is a type of dish-shaped
bell
A bell is a directly struck idiophone percussion instrument. Most bells have the shape of a hollow cup that when struck vibrates in a single strong strike tone, with its sides forming an efficient resonator. The strike may be made by an inte ...
from
Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the n ...
.
The is often found in
traditional Japanese music or
Min'yō
, ''Nihon min'yō'', Japanese ''min'yō'' or Japanese folk music is a genre of traditional Japanese music.
Characteristics
Styles
Many ''min'yō'' are connected to forms of work or to specific trades and were originally sung between work ...
. Although sometimes suspended from a bar, it is more common for a musician to hold the bell in place with one hand beat it with the other using a special mallet, often made from bone.
The ''kane'' makes three distinct sounds: ''chon'' - hitting the middle; ''chi'' - hitting the inside edge; and ''ki'' - reversing the stroke. This kind of onomatopoeic mnemonic or ''shouga'' is common in Japanese music.
There are several sizes of ''kane'', such as the ''atarigane'' or the ''surigane''.
''Kane'' are also used in
Buddhist
Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...
or
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 ''Shint ...
ceremonies. In temples, they may be used to signify time or alert people to certain events.
See also
*
Bonshō
, also known as or are large bells found in Buddhist temples throughout Japan, used to summon the monks to prayer and to demarcate periods of time. Rather than containing a clapper, are struck from the outside, using either a handheld malle ...
*
Suzu
*
Japanese bells
References
Japanese musical instruments
Bells (percussion)
Asian percussion instruments
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