Traditional Japanese musical instruments
Encyclopedia
Plucked
- BiwaBiwaThe is a Japanese short-necked fretted lute, often used in narrative storytelling. The biwa is the chosen instrument of Benten, goddess of music, eloquence, poetry, and education in Japanese Shinto....
(琵琶) - pear-shaped lute - IchigenkinIchigenkinAn is a Japanese single-stringed zither. Its slender, flat body is carved from kiri wood. Its silk string is plucked with a pointed tubular plectrum placed on the index finger of the right hand while the rokan slightly depresses the string—though not so hard that...
(kanji: 一絃琴) - one-string zither - KotoKoto (musical instrument)The koto is a traditional Japanese stringed musical instrument, similar to the Chinese guzheng, the Mongolian yatga, the Korean gayageum and the Vietnamese đàn tranh. The koto is the national instrument of Japan. Koto are about length, and made from kiri wood...
(琴, 箏) - long zither - Junanagen17-string kotoThe ' is a traditional Japanese musical instrument, a zither with seventeen strings. It is a variant of the koto, which traditionally has thirteen strings....
(十七絃) - 17-stringed zither - Taishogoto (大正琴) - zither with metal strings and keys
- Kugo (箜篌) - an angled harp used in ancient times and recently revived
- SanshinSanshinThe sanshin is an Okinawan musical instrument and precursor of the Japanese shamisen. Often likened to a banjo, it consists of a snakeskin-covered body, neck and three strings....
(三線) - three-string banjo from Okinawa - ShamisenShamisenThe , also called is a three-stringed, Japanese musical instrument played with a plectrum called a bachi. The Japanese pronunciation is usually "shamisen" but sometimes "jamisen" when used as a suffix . -Construction:The shamisen is a plucked stringed instrument...
(三味線) - A banjo-like lute with three strings, the shamisen was brought to Japan from China in the 16th century. Popular in Edo's pleasure districts, the shamisen was often used in Kabuki theater. Made from red sandalwood and ranging from 1.1 to 1.4 meters long, the shamisen has ivory pegs, strings made from twisted silk, and a belly covered in cat or dog skin. The strings, which are of different thickness, are plucked or struck with a tortoise shell pick. - YamatogotoYamatogotoThe ', also called ', is a six- or seven-stringed zither which, unlike the koto and other stringed instruments, is believed to be truly native to Japan, and not imported from mainland Asia...
(大和琴) - ancient long zither; also called wagon (和琴) - TonkoriTonkoriThe is a plucked string instrument played by the Ainu people of Hokkaidō, northern Japan and Sakhalin. It is unfretted and has between three and five strings, which are not stopped but instead played "open." The instrument is believed to have been developed in the Karafuto region of Sakhalin.The...
(トンコリ) - plucked instrument used by the AinuAinu peopleThe , also called Aynu, Aino , and in historical texts Ezo , are indigenous people or groups in Japan and Russia. Historically they spoke the Ainu language and related varieties and lived in Hokkaidō, the Kuril Islands, and much of Sakhalin...
of HokkaidōHokkaido, formerly known as Ezo, Yezo, Yeso, or Yesso, is Japan's second largest island; it is also the largest and northernmost of Japan's 47 prefectural-level subdivisions. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaido from Honshu, although the two islands are connected by the underwater railway Seikan Tunnel...
Flutes
Japanese flutes are called FueFue
Fue is the Japanese word for flute, and refers to a class of flutes native to Japan.Fue or FUE may also refer to:*The French University in Egypt*The Future University in Egypt*Follicular unit extraction, a technique of harvesting hair...
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there are eight different flutes
- HocchikuHocchiku, sometimes romanized as hocchiku or hochiku, is a Japanese end-blown flute , crafted from root sections of bamboo. After cleaning and sanding, the heavy root end of the bamboo stalk reveals many small circular knots where the roots formerly joined the stalk...
(法竹) - vertical bamboo flute - NohkanNohkanThe is a high pitched, Japanese bamboo transverse flute or . It is commonly used in traditional Imperial Noh and Kabuki theatre. The nohkan flute was created by Kan'ami and his son Zeami in the 15th century, during the time when the two were transforming the Noh theatre forms Dengaku and...
(能管) - transverse bamboo flute used for nohNoh, or - derived from the Sino-Japanese word for "skill" or "talent" - is a major form of classical Japanese musical drama that has been performed since the 14th century. Many characters are masked, with men playing male and female roles. Traditionally, a Noh "performance day" lasts all day and...
theater - RyūtekiRyutekiThe is a Japanese transverse fue made of bamboo. It is used in gagaku, the Shinto classical music associated with Japan's imperial court. The sound of the ryūteki is said to represent the dragons which ascend the skies between the heavenly lights and the people of the earth...
(龍笛) - transverse bamboo flute used for gagakuGagakuGagaku is a type of Japanese classical music that has been performed at the Imperial Court in Kyoto for several centuries. It consists of three primary repertoires:#Native Shinto religious music and folk songs and dance, called kuniburi no utamai... - KagurabueKagurabueThe is a six or seven-hole transverse flute used to support Japanese kagura performance....
(神楽笛) - transverse bamboo flute used for mi-kagura (御神楽, Shinto ritual musicKagura- Fictional characters :*Kagura Tsuchimiya, the protagonist of Ga-rei*Kagura, an InuYasha character*Kagura Sohma , a Fruits Basket character*Kagura, an Azumanga Daioh character*Ten'nōzu Kagura, a Speed Grapher character...
) - KomabueKomabueThe is a transverse fue that is used in traditional Japanese court music.- Construction :The komabue is typically constructed from bamboo. It is a transverse flute with six finger-holes. It is 36 cm, shorter than the ryuteki flute....
(高麗笛) - transverse bamboo flute used for komagakuKomagakuKomagaku is a form of Gagaku, or court music, that appeared in Japan around the beginning of the Nara period . It originated in Korea and is often played as a dance accompaniment....
; similar to the ryūteki - ShakuhachiShakuhachiThe is a Japanese end-blown flute. It is traditionally made of bamboo, but versions now exist in ABS and hardwoods. It was used by the monks of the Fuke school of Zen Buddhism in the practice of...
(尺八) - vertical bamboo flute used for Zen meditation - ShinobueShinobueThe shinobue is a Japanese transverse flute or fue that has a high-pitched sound. It is found in hayashi and nagauta ensembles, and plays important roles in noh and kabuki theatre music. It is heard in Shinto music such as kagura-den and in traditional Japanese folk songs...
(篠笛) - transverse folk bamboo flute - Tsuchibue (hiragana: つちぶえ; kanji: 土笛; literally "earthen flute") - globular flute made from clay
Free reed mouth organs
- Shō (笙) - 17-pipe mouth organ used for gagaku
- U (竽) - large mouth organ
Percussion
Drums
- KakkoKakkoThe is a Japanese double-headed drum. One way in which the kakko differs from the regular taiko drum is in the way in which it is made taut. Like the Shime-Daiko and tsuzumi, the skin of the heads are first stretched over metal hoops before they are placed on the body, tying them to each other and...
(羯鼓) - small drum used in gagaku - TaikoTaikomeans "drum" in Japanese . Outside Japan, the word is often used to refer to any of the various Japanese drums and to the relatively recent art-form of ensemble taiko drumming...
(太鼓), literally "great drum"- ŌtsuzumiOtsuzumiThe , also known as the ōkawa, is an hourglass-shaped Japanese drum. It is a larger version of the tsuzumi, or kotsuzumi and is used in traditional Japanese theater and folk music. Its appearance and the sound it produces are slightly different than that of the tsuzumi...
(大鼓) - hand drum - Shime-daikoShime-Daiko]The shime-daiko is a small Japanese drum. The word "shime-daiko" comes from a larger word "tsukeshime-daiko" often shortened to simply, "shime-daiko" or "shime." It has a short but wide body with animal skin drumheads on both its upper and bottom sides. The hide is first stretched on metal...
(締太鼓) - small drum played with sticks - TsuzumiTsuzumiThe is a Japanese drum of Chinese/Indian origin. It consists of a wooden body shaped like an hourglass, and it is taut, with two drum heads with cords that can be squeezed or released to increase or decrease the tension of the heads respectively...
(鼓) - small hand drum
- Ōtsuzumi
- Tsuri-daiko (釣太鼓) - drum on a stand with ornately painted head, played with a padded stick
- IkkoIkkoIkkō-shu is usually viewed as a small, militant, offshoot from Jodo Shinshu Buddhism though the name has a complex history.Originally Ikkō-shu was a small antinomian sect founded by Ikkō Shunjo and similar to Ippen's Ji-shu...
- small, ornately decorated hourglass-shaped drum - San-no-tsuzumi (三の鼓), hourglass-shaped double-headed drum; struck only on one side
- Den-den daikoDen-den daikoThe den-den daiko is a Japanese pellet drum. It has two heads and is suspended on a rod, with beads or pellets hanging on threads on either sides of the body of the drum...
(でんでん太鼓) - pellet drumPellet drumPellet drums are a class of membranophone, or drum, characterized by their construction and manner of playing. They have two heads , and two pellets, each connected by a cord to the drum...
, used as a children's toy
Other
- HyōshigiHyoshigiThe is a simple Japanese musical instrument, consisting of two pieces of hardwood or bamboo that are connected by a thin ornamental rope. Hyoshigi are used in traditional theaters in Japan to announce the beginning of a performance. The clappers are played together or on the floor to create a...
(拍子木) - wooden or bamboo clappers - Mokugyo (木魚) - woodblock carved in the shape of a fish, struck with a wooden stick; often used in Buddhist chanting
- ShōkoShōkoThe shōko is a small bronze gong, struck with two horn beaters, used in Japanese gagaku. It is suspended in a vertical frame and comes in three sizes.-See also:*Kane...
(鉦鼓) - small gong used in gagaku; struck with two horn beaters - Sasara (ささら) - clapper made from wooden slats connected by a rope or cord
- Ita-sasara (板ささら) - clapper made from wooden slats connected by a rope or cord
- Bin-sasara (編木, 板ささら; also spelled bin-zasara) - clapper made from wooden slats connected by a rope or cord
- Kokiriko (筑子, こきりこ) - many people confuse the kokiriko with the sasara and sasara are often sold outside Japan under the name kokiriko. In fact, the kokiriko is a pair of sticks which are beaten together slowly and rhythmically.
- Kagura suzuKagura suzuKagura suzu are a set of bells used in Kagura dance. The three tiers of bells are suspended by coiled brass wires. The shape of the bells are thought to have been inspired from the fruits of Ogatama no ki .- References :...
- hand-held bell tree with three tiers of pellet bells - KaneKane (musical instrument)The is a type of bell from Japan.Often accompanying Japanese folk music, or Min'yō, is a dish-shaped bell called a . It is often hung on a bar, and the player holds the bell in place with one hand, and beats the Kane with a specialized mallet with the other...
(鉦) - small flat gong - Shakubyoshi (also called shaku) - clapper made from a pair of flat wooden sticks
Other
- MukkuriMukkuriMukkuri is a traditional Japanese plucked idiophone indigenous to the Ainu. The Mukkuri is made from bamboo and is 10 cm long and 1.5 cm wide. Similar to a jaw harp, sound is made by pulling the string and vibrating the inside.- External links :*...
(ムックリ) - jaw harp used by the Ainu peopleAinu peopleThe , also called Aynu, Aino , and in historical texts Ezo , are indigenous people or groups in Japan and Russia. Historically they spoke the Ainu language and related varieties and lived in Hokkaidō, the Kuril Islands, and much of Sakhalin... - Koukin (口琴) - general name for the jaw harp, in Edo periodEdo periodThe , or , is a division of Japanese history which was ruled by the shoguns of the Tokugawa family, running from 1603 to 1868. The political entity of this period was the Tokugawa shogunate....
also called Biyabon (びやぼん)
See also
- Music of JapanMusic of JapanThe music of Japan includes a wide array of performers in distinct styles both traditional and modern. The word for music in Japanese is 音楽 , combining the kanji 音 with the kanji 楽...
- GagakuGagakuGagaku is a type of Japanese classical music that has been performed at the Imperial Court in Kyoto for several centuries. It consists of three primary repertoires:#Native Shinto religious music and folk songs and dance, called kuniburi no utamai...