The Koto

The Japanese koto is a zither about six feet long made of paulownia wood from the Japanese "kiri" (paulownia) tree. The koto is made to resemble a crouching dragon, king of legendary animals, and the koto's body parts are named dragon-head, dragon-back, dragon-legs, etc. The koto's 13 strings are made of silk or nylon and are each of the same thickness. Each string is tuned by a moveable bridge made of ivory or plastic, shaped like an inverted Y. Two sounding holes are bored out of the backboard. The koto is played with three plectra or picks made of ivory or plastic fitted into leather bands which are placed on the right hand's index finger, middle finger and thumb. The koto's traditional scale is pentatonic (five notes excluding the octave), and the main traditional Japanese tuning is called "hirajoshi," literally "tranquil tuning," D Eb G A Bb D. The koto produces the purest musical tone of the traditional Japanese stringed instruments; however, there are many special techniques of koto which produce added musical effects in accordance with Japanese taste, such as scraping and hitting the strings with the plectra.