About Japanese Musical Instruments

Some drums have heads on both ends.

Japanese monks were sent to China to study art, music, philosophy and government during the fourth century. These monks returned to Japan to share the knowledge they acquired, which included new musical instruments and a body of Chinese music called Gagaku. Gagaku became the music of the emperor's court. Today, a Gagaku ensemble sounds as it did a thousand years ago. The instruments musicians use in this ensemble are string, percussion and wind.

Drums

Taiko is a term for a large Japanese ceremonial drum. A variation on taiko is daiko, which means drum. Byou-daiko is the name of the category of drums made from a single log. Within the byou-daiko category is the nagado-daiko drum family. The nagado-daiko category includes ko-daiko, shaku-daiko and o-daiko. Chu-daiko is a medium-sized drum in this last category. Daibyoshi is a short-bodied drum. Kotsuzumi is a small hand-held drum.

Shamisen

One of the main instruments used in traditional Japanese music, the shamisen -- a three-stringed lute -- has a long wooden neck, a resonating wooden box covered with animal skin and woven silk strings stretched over the bridge. The bridge is made of water buffalo horn, tortoiseshell or wood. As with a guitar, the sound is produced by plucking the strings with a large plectrum. The shamisen is used in most genres of Japanese performance art such as Kabuki.

Koto

The koto is the national instrument of Japan and is a harplike instrument. It includes a 6-foot-long shallow resonating wood box with 13 strings stretched over movable ivory bridges. The koto is traditionally played at floor level by a kneeling musician. The player uses a plectra attached to three fingers and strums and plucks the strings. Pressing down using various pressure on the strings behind the bridges creates higher pitches.

Shakuhachi

The shakuhachi is a vertical flute with four finger holes in front and one at the back. A versatile instrument, it has a contemporary appeal in spite of its antiquity. This flute is made from the stalk of a bamboo tree, and the instrument's tube is hollow. Sound from the shakuhachi is produced by blowing across the blowing edge of the flute rather than into it.

Biwa

Another lute, the biwa has an expressive sound and is used to accompany dramatic storytelling, during interludes. The biwa is 3 feet long and made of mulberry, rosewood or quince and paulownia woods. The instrument's silk strings are stretched over fixed frets made of wood and bamboo.

References

• Duo Sokyo: Traditional Instruments of Japanese Music
• The Shumei Taiko Ensemble: Drums and Other Instruments
• Augusta State University: Japanese Traditional Music and Japanese Theater
• Musical Traditions: Japanese Traditional Instrumental Music