#Japanese stringed instruments movie#

These days, the kokyu is usually replaced by the shakuhachi, a Japanese flute. Traditionally, the kokyu was used as a part of the sankyoku ensemble, a form of Japanese chamber music that is often accompanied by a vocalist. It is rubbed against the strings to produce sound and the instrument is held upright, not unlike a cello. The neck is made from ebony and it usually has three strings, though there are variations with 4. Both ends of the body are covered in cat skin. The body is hollow and made from coconut or Styrax japonica wood. It originally came to Japan from China, but has since evolved and today, the material, shape and sound are distinct from any Chinese instrument.Ī kokyu is about 28 inches tall (70 cm). The kokyu (written 胡弓) is the only Japanese string instrument that is played with a bow. Kokyu - The Japanese Violin-Like Instrument By Kokyuu – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, Link I’ll cover both of them below, since they look very similar to the untrained eye, and whenever someone refers to a Japanese or Chinese violin-like instrument, it is always on of the two they are asking about.

#Japanese stringed instruments movie#

Well, if it was indeed a Japanese movie, it was most likely a kokyu.īut if the movie was Chinese or set in China, the instrument was probably an erhu.īoth instruments have strings and are played with a bow, but apart from that, they do not much resemble the violin. You may have seen this unusual stringed instrument, that is played with a bow, in a Japanese movie and wondered what it was. It’s played like a violin, but looks totally different. Best Karaoke Songs (Easy To Sing And Sound Like A Star).Other horizontal flutes, such as the takebue and shinobue are also frequently played during festivals.

The nohkan is the flute used in the Noh Theatre. In the Middle Ages, the shakuhachi was associated with wandering Buddhist monks known as komuso, who played it essentially as a spiritual exercise. All the string instruments are played by plucking with a fret.Īlthough most of the flutes are horizontal, the most popular is still the vertical, recorder-like flute made of bamboo, the shakuhachi. There are various types of biwa - a short-necked lute with four strings and the long-necked shamisen with three strings. Among the sitars are the wagon, with six strings, and the thirteen-stringed koto. Traditional string instruments include variations of the sitar and long- or short-necked lutes. The tsuzumi - the hourglass drum - is used mainly in the Noh and Kabuki theatres. There are also miniature drums used by dancers. Among the tacked drums are the taiko, mostly employed for court music and festivals. Drums with tacks are usually barrel-shaped, whereas those with ropes tend to be shaped like an hourglass or tube. The drums are usually beaten with drumsticks. Most of the Japanese drums have a membrane on either side, attached to the frame with ropes or tacks. String instruments played with a bow are relatively rare in the history of Japanese music and trumpets, whether of metal or conch-shells, are even rarer. The Kodo troupe of drummers that visited Israel a decade ago, and the Yoshida Brothers, who play the shamisen (see further) are only two examples of contemporary musicians who are reviving the traditional instruments, with great success in Japan and worldwide.Įach type of instrument is adjusted to the desired range of a specific musical genre. In recent years, the number of musicians incorporating traditional instruments in their performances has increased. Others, including bells and drumming, are used in Buddhist ceremonies and in gagaku (the music of the imperial court).

Three types of instrument are used for performing traditional Japanese music - drums, stringed instruments, and wind instruments (especially the flute).