Resources About Playing Japanese Koto?

1. How is the koto of Japan played?
2. Why is the koto important to Japanese culture?
3. What would you do with a koto in Japan?
4. Is the koto hard to learn?

How is the koto of Japan played?

The koto is played by plucking the strings with the thumb and first two fingers of the right hand, which are fitted with ivory plectrums called tsume. The left hand, in traditions after the 16th century, may alter the pitch or sound of each string by pressing or manipulating the strings to the left of the bridges.

Why is the koto important to Japanese culture?

The Koto is a traditional Japanese musical instrument. It originated from the Chinese Guzheng but developed its own tradition in Japan since the 8th century. It was traditionally played as a form of entertainment in the imperial courts.

What would you do with a koto in Japan?

1) Using “koto” as its dictionary definitions of “thing,” “matter,” “incident,” “circumstance,” etc. “Koto” can be used in a variety of situations to generally mean “thing(s).” For example: する事がありません。 There is nothing to do, as in “I'm bored”.

Is the koto hard to learn?

I'm currently learning the koto with my school's koto club, kotos are pretty cheap of you get them second hand so I got a miniature one for home practice since my apartment is tiny and the walls are paper thin. It's not too difficult to learn you just need to be able to read numbers in kanji.