Japanese musical instrument

Simply means “big fat drum”. The Odaiko is the most dramatic of the Taiko family. (a)   performance is physically demanding, requiring great strength and endurance. It has an integral part of many Japanese (matsuri)

festivals.

is a hand

drum. It consists of a

wooden body shaped

like an hour glass, and

it is taut, with two drum

heads with cords that

can be squeezed or

released to increase or

decrease the tension of

the heads respectively

(a)  

is also called

gaku-daiko. It is a large

Japanese hanging

drum. It is played with

two mallets on one side

only. It is used

primarily in bugaku

orchestra.

(a)  

is a broad range

percussion instrument.

It comes in various sizes

and is used to play a

variety of musical genre

(a)  

is a 13-string zither, about two meters long. It is plucked using picks on the thumb and first two fingers of the right hand, while the left hand can be used to modify pitch and tone. It is used in an ensemble in gagaku* or as a solo instrument. * Gagaku is a type of Japanese classical music that has been performed at the imperial court since 7th century Japan.

(a)  

It is a plucked stringed

instrument. Its

construction follows

model similar of a

guitar or a banjo,

employing a neck, and

strings stretched across

resonating body. The

neck of the shamisen is

fretless, and is slimmer

than that of a guitar or

banjo.

(a)  

It is a Japanese short necked fretted lute,

often used in narrative

story telling. The (a)   is

the chosen instrument

of Benten, the goddess

of music, eloquence,

poetry, and education

in Japanese Shinto.

The most famous flute,

in Japan. It has four or

five holes on the front

face and a thumb hole

on the rear face. It was

imported from China for

gagaku.

(a)  

A parallel bamboo flute

which is the only

melodic instrument

used in noh*

. The

melody of the flute has

no specific pitch

relationship with the

melody of the chanting.

*Noh is a major form of

classical Japanese

dance-drama, performed

since the 14th century

Japan

(a)  

It is a double reed

Japanese flute used as

one of two main melodic

instruments in

Japanese gagaku

music.

(a)