Koto
Koto
The koto is the national instrument of Japan and has more than 1,300 years of history and development in the territory of Japan. Its predecessor is the Chinese guzheng which is one of the oldest stringed instruments known to the history of music, with more than 2,500 years of existence. The guzheng entered Japan in the Nara period (Nara-jidai, 710-794), a period conducive to exchange with China, and was quickly assimilated by the Japanese aristocratic class.
The koto remained for several centuries almost exclusively used as part of the gagaku orchestra of the imperial court because its use was restricted to the Japanese aristocratic class.
As of the Edo period (1603-1868), after the end of the civil wars, its repertoire was disseminated and expanded as it was used for the music of the popular classes. It was especially from the Meiji Restoration at the end of the 19th century when it began to develop a remarkable technical expansion as well as the expansion of its repertoire, as a consequence of the opening of the country to Western culture.
Nowadays, numerous soloists and groups have emerged that use the koto in genres as diverse as jazz, pop, music for video games or even in arrangements and versions of great rock hits for traditional instrument groups in which the koto usually participates.
Koto Features
The koto is made of kiri wood (Paulownia Tomentosa), which is a light and strong wood with excellent acoustic properties. The traditional standard model consists of 13 strings and is tuned by 13 movable bridges. It has a length of approximately 1.83 meters and a width of about 25 cm. The right hand uses a set of three tsume (nails) to pluck the strings, while the left hand performs various techniques to tune, tune, and modulate the sound producing different sound “colors”.
Koto courses we offer: