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[[Image:Kuuchou.JPG|right|thumb|300px|A ''kûchô'', the Okinawan version of the Japanese ''kokyû'' fiddle.]]
*''Japanese'': 胡弓 ''(kokyuu)''
The ''kokyû'' is a Japanese stringed instrument akin to a version of the [[shamisen]] designed to be played with a bow, like a fiddle. It is a bit smaller than the shamisen, but is otherwise quite similar. The word ''kokyû'' is also used in Japanese to refer to any of a wide range of Chinese bowed fiddles, but most strictly speaking, there are separate names for each of those instruments, such as the ''erhu'' and ''huqin''.
The instrument is generally played by being held upright on one's knee, and moving the bow horizontally across the strings. Traditionally, the ''kokyû'' had three strings, like the shamisen, but four-stringed versions became more common in the 20th century.
The ''kokyû'' sometimes accompanies ''[[bunraku]]'' puppet theatre or ''[[gidayu bushi|gidayû bushi]]'' narrative song, alongside a shamisen; it was also traditionally played in a trio with shamisen and [[koto]], and can be tuned several different ways to suit the context, i.e. which instruments or performance style are being accompanied. ''Kokyû'' also sometimes plays a role in folk music and festival bands (''[[matsuri bayashi]]''). Overall, however, while a relatively commonly played instrument in the [[Edo period]], in these various contexts, the ''kokyû'' has become much less popular and less common in the 20th century, and is today much more rarely seen or heard than, for example, shamisen or koto.
A very similar instrument is used in Okinawan traditional music. The ''kûchô'' (クーチョー), as it is called in Okinawa, served much the same purposes, accompanying [[sanshin]], or a larger ensemble consisting of [[kutu]] (Okinawan koto), [[fanso|fansô]] (flute), and [[teeku]] (drums). The ''kûchô'' is very similar to the Okinawan sanshin, but smaller; like the Japanese ''kokyû'', it traditionally had three strings, but later came to often have four, but is quite rare today, relative to the sanshin at least. Unlike the Japanese instrument, which uses catskin, the Okinawan ''kûchô'' uses snakeshin for the face - usually leftover pieces of skin from the making of sanshin. The body of the instrument is often made from wood today, but was sometimes traditionally made from half a coconut, or other similar bowl-shaped materials. The bow is made from the hair of a horse's tail.
==References==
*"[http://kotobank.jp/word/%E3%82%AF%E3%83%BC%E3%83%81%E3%83%A7%E3%83%BC%28%E8%83%A1%E5%BC%93%29 Kûchô]." ''Hyakka jiten Mypedia''. Hitachi Solutions, 2010. Accessed via Kotobank.jp.
*"[http://kotobank.jp/word/%E8%83%A1%E5%BC%93 Kokyû]." ''Ongaku yôgo dasu''. Yamaha Music Media. Accessed via Kotobank.jp.
[[Category:Poetry and Theater]]
*''Japanese'': 胡弓 ''(kokyuu)''
The ''kokyû'' is a Japanese stringed instrument akin to a version of the [[shamisen]] designed to be played with a bow, like a fiddle. It is a bit smaller than the shamisen, but is otherwise quite similar. The word ''kokyû'' is also used in Japanese to refer to any of a wide range of Chinese bowed fiddles, but most strictly speaking, there are separate names for each of those instruments, such as the ''erhu'' and ''huqin''.
The instrument is generally played by being held upright on one's knee, and moving the bow horizontally across the strings. Traditionally, the ''kokyû'' had three strings, like the shamisen, but four-stringed versions became more common in the 20th century.
The ''kokyû'' sometimes accompanies ''[[bunraku]]'' puppet theatre or ''[[gidayu bushi|gidayû bushi]]'' narrative song, alongside a shamisen; it was also traditionally played in a trio with shamisen and [[koto]], and can be tuned several different ways to suit the context, i.e. which instruments or performance style are being accompanied. ''Kokyû'' also sometimes plays a role in folk music and festival bands (''[[matsuri bayashi]]''). Overall, however, while a relatively commonly played instrument in the [[Edo period]], in these various contexts, the ''kokyû'' has become much less popular and less common in the 20th century, and is today much more rarely seen or heard than, for example, shamisen or koto.
A very similar instrument is used in Okinawan traditional music. The ''kûchô'' (クーチョー), as it is called in Okinawa, served much the same purposes, accompanying [[sanshin]], or a larger ensemble consisting of [[kutu]] (Okinawan koto), [[fanso|fansô]] (flute), and [[teeku]] (drums). The ''kûchô'' is very similar to the Okinawan sanshin, but smaller; like the Japanese ''kokyû'', it traditionally had three strings, but later came to often have four, but is quite rare today, relative to the sanshin at least. Unlike the Japanese instrument, which uses catskin, the Okinawan ''kûchô'' uses snakeshin for the face - usually leftover pieces of skin from the making of sanshin. The body of the instrument is often made from wood today, but was sometimes traditionally made from half a coconut, or other similar bowl-shaped materials. The bow is made from the hair of a horse's tail.
==References==
*"[http://kotobank.jp/word/%E3%82%AF%E3%83%BC%E3%83%81%E3%83%A7%E3%83%BC%28%E8%83%A1%E5%BC%93%29 Kûchô]." ''Hyakka jiten Mypedia''. Hitachi Solutions, 2010. Accessed via Kotobank.jp.
*"[http://kotobank.jp/word/%E8%83%A1%E5%BC%93 Kokyû]." ''Ongaku yôgo dasu''. Yamaha Music Media. Accessed via Kotobank.jp.
[[Category:Poetry and Theater]]