Koto - Kin

A Chinese stringed instrument (a long-bodied plucked stringed instrument of the zither family). It is also called the seven-stringed zither. Its origins are ancient, and it already existed in the Zhou dynasty. During the Han dynasty, it was highly valued as a Confucian tool for personal training, and after the Three Kingdoms period, it became popular as a solo instrument requiring advanced performance technique. With the development of reduced character notation (a type of musical notation) created during the Song dynasty, it reached its heyday during the Ming dynasty.

Koto music was introduced to Japan during the Nara period, but fell out of use towards the end of the Heian period. Instruments from that time remain in the Shosoin Repository. Later, during the Edo period, the Ming monk Shin'etsu, who naturalized in Japan in 1677 (Enpo 5), revived the instrument and it became quite popular among samurai and intellectuals, but it rapidly declined during the Meiji period, and is now practically extinct.

The koto used today has a hollow body with a total length of about 125 centimeters. The body is about 20 centimeters at the head and tapers from the head to the tail, with two constrictions along the way. The seven silk strings pass through the body from the back of the head and overhang the top plate, then wrap around to the back, covering the tail, and are secured with two pegs. No pegs are used when playing the koto; the strings are plucked near the head with the fingers of the right hand except for the little finger, and the left hand presses the strings to determine the pitch. A round mark is fitted into the surface of the body along the first string, which is used as a guide for pressing the string with the left hand. Since it has been an instrument for the player to enjoy since ancient times, the sound it makes is quite quiet.

In Japan, "koto" is also read as "koto" and was formerly a general term for stringed instruments in general, but is now used as a general term for long-bodied zithers (kinsou-type instruments), and more commonly as a term referring to the koto alone. Strictly speaking, however, "kin" refers to instruments that do not use pillars for tuning, and is distinguished from kotos that do use pillars. The gekkin, which is a member of the lute family, was named after the koto because of its similar tone.

[Takanori Fujita]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

中国の弦鳴楽器（チター属長胴撥弦(はつげん)楽器）。七絃(しちげん)琴ともいう。起源は古く、周代にはすでに存在していた。漢代には、儒教の修身具として重んじられ、三国時代以降は、高度な演奏技巧を要する独奏楽器として普及した。宋(そう)代につくられた減字譜（奏法譜の一種）の発達とともに、明(みん)代には全盛期を迎えた。

　日本へは奈良時代に伝来したが、平安時代末期には廃れた。当時の楽器が正倉院に残されている。その後、江戸時代に入って1677年（延宝5）に日本に帰化した明の僧心越(しんえつ)が琴楽を再興し、武家や知識層にかなり広まったが、明治時代に急速に衰え、現在では消滅同然となっている。

　現在用いられる琴は、全長約125センチメートルの中空の胴をもつ。胴は、頭部が20センチメートルほどで頭部から尾部に向けて細くなり、途中に2か所のくびれをもつ。絹製の7本の弦は頭部の裏側から胴を貫通させて表板上に張り出し、尾部を覆うようにして裏側に回り、二つの糸巻で止められる。演奏には義甲(つめ)を用いず、小指を除く右手の指で頭部近くを撥弦し、左手で弦を押さえ音高を定める。胴の表面には第一弦に沿って丸い徽(き)がはめ込まれており、左手で弦を押さえる目安とする。古来より奏者自身が楽しむ楽器であるため、音量はかなり小さい。

　日本では「琴」を「こと」とも読み、古くは弦楽器一般の総称であったが、現在では長胴チター（琴箏(きんそう)類）の総称として用いたり、さらに通俗的には箏のみをさす語として用いられる。しかし厳密には、「きん」という場合には、調弦のための柱(じ)を用いないものをさし、柱を用いる箏とは区別される。なお、リュート属の月琴(げっきん)は、音色が琴と似ることによって命名されたものである。

［藤田隆則］

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