Kijibiwa - Kijibiwa

…It is also simply called 'five strings'. The five-stringed straight-necked biwa, which is thought to have originated in ancient India and been introduced to East Asian countries as part of Buddhist culture, is also called the Kizi biwa or the Ko biwa. Although originally of a different lineage from the four-stringed curved-necked biwa, they influenced each other in the process of transmission and tradition. It is believed that the original purpose of the biwa was to accompany vocal music by using the first and second low-pitched strings as a sustained accompaniment (drone) and the other strings to play melodic movements. …

*Some of the terminology explanations that mention "Kise Biwa" are listed below.

Source | Heibonsha World Encyclopedia 2nd Edition | Information

…単に〈五弦〉ともいう。古代インドに端を発し，仏教文化の一部として東アジア諸国に伝えられたと考えられる5弦直頸の琵琶は亀茲（きじ）琵琶，胡（こ）琵琶とも呼ばれ，4弦曲頸の琵琶と本来は系統が異なるが，伝播伝承の過程において相互に影響を及ぼした。低音の第1～2弦を持続伴奏(ドローン)とし，他の弦で旋律的な動きを奏しながら声楽曲の伴奏をする，というのが本来の用途であったと推定される。…

※「亀茲琵琶」について言及している用語解説の一部を掲載しています。

出典｜株式会社平凡社世界大百科事典 第２版について | 情報