Kutu

A koto tuned to Okinawan kutu tuning.

• Okinawan: 琴 (kutu)

The kutu is the Okinawan name for the 13-string zither called koto in Japanese. It is the only major example of a Japanese instrument being adopted into the repertoire of Okinawan classical music.

The kutu as it is used in Okinawan music is physically identical to the Japanese koto, but is simply tuned differently. It is most commonly played as accompaniment to the sanshin, sometimes, traditionally, alongside the kûchô (the Okinawan version of the kokyû fiddle). However, there is also a small repertoire of solo Okinawan kutu songs, mainly danmono pieces in the style of the Yatsuhashi school of Japanese koto, along with several other Japanese koto pieces of unclear origin. One of the most common pieces in this solo repertoire, also commonly played on classical sanshin, is a danmono piece entitled Watarizô-Tachiutushi.

References

• Thompson, Robin. "The Music of Ryukyu." Ashgate Research Companion to Japanese Music. Surrey: Ashgate Publishing, 2008. p309.