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Created page with "right|thumb|300px|A Japanese ''koto'' tuned to serve as an Okinawan ''[[kutu'']] *''Japanese'': 琴 ''(koto)'' The ''koto'', a type of 13-string zither rel..."
[[Image:Kutu.JPG|right|thumb|300px|A Japanese ''koto'' tuned to serve as an Okinawan ''[[kutu]]'']]
*''Japanese'': 琴 ''(koto)''
The ''koto'', a type of 13-string zither related to the Chinese ''[[qin]]'', is one of the most well-known traditional Japanese musical instruments.
==History==
The ''koto'' was first introduced to Japan from China during the [[Nara period]], and quickly became prominent in aristocratic culture. Much like the ''qin'' is the standard instrument associated with the ideal [[literati|literatus]] in China, the ''koto'' appears frequently in [[Heian period]] literature, as a symbol of one's cultured/cultivated identity.
By the [[Edo period]], playing the ''koto'' had come to be a mark of cultivation among daughters of prominent merchant families.
==Construction==
''Koto'' were traditionally made from [[paulownia]] (''kiri'') wood, with silk strings and ivory bridges (''ji''). The finger-picks (''tsume'') were also traditionally made of ivory. Today, nylon strings and plastic strings & picks are becoming more common, but paulownia remains standard for the body of the instrument.
==Tuning & Performance==
The instrument can be tuned in a variety of ways, chiefly by moving the bridges. There are several standard tunings in traditional Japanese music.
The ''[[kutu]]'' used in classical Okinawan music is identical to the Japanese ''koto'', albeit with different tuning.
{{stub}}
==References==
*Gallery labels, Musical Instuments gallery, Metropolitan Museum of Art.
[[Category:Poetry and Theater]]
*''Japanese'': 琴 ''(koto)''
The ''koto'', a type of 13-string zither related to the Chinese ''[[qin]]'', is one of the most well-known traditional Japanese musical instruments.
==History==
The ''koto'' was first introduced to Japan from China during the [[Nara period]], and quickly became prominent in aristocratic culture. Much like the ''qin'' is the standard instrument associated with the ideal [[literati|literatus]] in China, the ''koto'' appears frequently in [[Heian period]] literature, as a symbol of one's cultured/cultivated identity.
By the [[Edo period]], playing the ''koto'' had come to be a mark of cultivation among daughters of prominent merchant families.
==Construction==
''Koto'' were traditionally made from [[paulownia]] (''kiri'') wood, with silk strings and ivory bridges (''ji''). The finger-picks (''tsume'') were also traditionally made of ivory. Today, nylon strings and plastic strings & picks are becoming more common, but paulownia remains standard for the body of the instrument.
==Tuning & Performance==
The instrument can be tuned in a variety of ways, chiefly by moving the bridges. There are several standard tunings in traditional Japanese music.
The ''[[kutu]]'' used in classical Okinawan music is identical to the Japanese ''koto'', albeit with different tuning.
{{stub}}
==References==
*Gallery labels, Musical Instuments gallery, Metropolitan Museum of Art.
[[Category:Poetry and Theater]]