Gottan

• Japanese: ゴッタン (gottan)

The gottan is a three-stringed instrument related to the Okinawan sanshin and the Japanese shamisen, and distinctive to Kagoshima prefecture and certain other parts of Kyushu.

Rather than using any animal skin over the soundbox, the gottan is made chiefly of cedar (J: sugi), both in the body (soundbox) and in the neck and pegs.

References

• Gallery labels, Reimeikan Museum of History and Culture, Kagoshima, Sept 2014.