One-stringed harp

Japanese: 一弦琴 - いちげんきん

A stringed instrument made of a single, slender wooden body with a single silk string. It is also called the "Sumakin" or "Bankin". Its body is about 110 cm long and 11 cm wide. Its shape is similar to the Chinese koto, with 12 markers set along the strings on the surface of the body to indicate the key points. The history of the ichigenkin is long, and it was already mentioned in the Nihon Koki, and the one-stringed instrument was played in China during the Tang dynasty. In Japan, it was popularized by the monk Kakuho (Magani Masato) in the mid-18th century, and flourished towards the end of the Edo period, but declined after the end of the Meiji period. There are two types of music for the ichigenkin: honkyoku (mainly songs) composed for the ichigenkin, and gaikyoku (including instrumental pieces such as danmono) composed from koto music and popular music transferred to the ichigenkin.

Source: Encyclopaedia Britannica Concise Encyclopedia About Encyclopaedia Britannica Concise Encyclopedia Information

Japanese:

細長い1枚の木の胴に1本の絹弦を張った弦楽器。「須磨琴」または「板琴」ともいう。胴長約 110cm，幅約 11cm。形は中国の琴に似ており，胴の表面に弦に沿って 12個の徽 (き) をはめて勘所を示す。一弦琴の歴史は古く，すでに『日本後紀』にみえ，唐代には中国でも独弦琴が行われた。日本では 18世紀の中頃，僧覚峰律師 (麦飯真人) により広められ，幕末にかけて隆盛になったが，明治末年以後衰微した。一弦琴の音楽には，一弦琴のために作曲された本曲 (歌を主とする) と，箏曲や俗曲から一弦琴に移した外曲 (段物などの器楽曲も含む) とがある。

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