Japanese musical instruments

Geisha Hands is my third novel, a historical fiction about the life of a maiko on the verge of her erikae (becoming a geisha). It takes place during the Meiji Period. This novel is unique in that…

From J-pop to the more traditional, a lot of interesting music comes out of Japan. This once-enigmatic nation chronicles its history through its music. Here are four unique Japanese instruments for your next song. 1. Shamisen This lute-like instrument has three strings. It is played by pluck the strings with ginkgo leaf-shaped plectrum. Because the shamisen […]

In doing some research on the Shamisen, I stumbled onto the Koto and was suddenly reminded that this instrument (and it’s cousins) are largely and undeniably associated with Asian culture. …

Shamisen. A Japanese Guitar.

~ Koto 箏

The Biwa, Japan's plucked lute, is descended from the Chinese pipa in the 7th century. In Japan it was first used in court music (gaku-biwa), then in a smaller version by Buddhist monks (moso-biwa). Later the heike-biwa, used to recite the epic Tale of Heike, combined elements of most and by the 12th century the most popular instrument

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Among the many traditional musical instruments of China, the most popular nowadays include the stringed instruments called the erhu, pipa, and guzheng, and the dizi flutes. These stringed instruments originated in foreign regions and were modified. When tourists think of their experiences in China, the poignant sounds of these Chinese instruments often colour their memories. Erhu 二胡