Koto

The koto is a traditional Japanese plucked string instrument. It is a long rectangular zither with a wooden soundboard, traditionally built with 13 strings, though modern kotos can have more, such as 17 or 20. The strings run the length of the instrument and are supported by movable bridges that can be slid to adjust pitch.

The body is usually made of paulownia wood. Strings were originally silk; today they are commonly nylon or fluorocarbon-wrapped. Each string passes over a fixed point and is supported by a movable bridge called ji, which allows tuning of individual strings. The instrument is typically placed horizontally on the floor or on a low stand during performance.

Playing technique involves the right hand wearing finger picks, or tsume, on the thumb, index, and middle fingers to pluck the strings. The left hand frets or presses strings to alter pitch, create vibrato, and dampen tones. Tone, dynamic shading, and pitch are produced through a combination of bridge positioning and specific right- and left-hand techniques.

Historically, the koto arrived in Japan from China in the Nara period and became central to gagaku court music. It later spread to secular music and is now used in solo performance as well as in chamber ensembles such as sankyoku, which often pairs the koto with shamisen and shakuhachi.

Core repertoire includes traditional pieces such as Rokudan no Shirabe by Yatsuhashi Kengyō. The instrument remains a symbol of Japanese musical heritage and appears in contemporary compositions and film scores. Modern kotos support various tunings that accommodate pentatonic and diatonic scales.