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The biwa (Japanese: 琵琶) is a Japanese short-necked wooden lute traditionally used in narrative storytelling. The biwa is a plucked string instrument that first gained popularity in China before spreading throughout East Asia, eventually reaching Japan sometime during the Nara period (710–794).
Biwa hōshi (琵琶法師), also known as "lute priests", were travelling performers in the era of Japanese history preceding the Meiji period. They earned their income by reciting vocal literature to the accompaniment of biwa music. Biwa hōshi were mostly blind, and adopted the shaved heads and robes common to Buddhist monks.
English: Types of Biwa, Japanese short-necked fretted lute, often used in narrative storytelling. Left to right: Gagaku-biwa, Chikuzen-biwa, Heike-biwa, Mōsō-biwa ...
The biwa (琵琶 - Chinese: pipa), a form of short-necked lute, was played by a group of itinerant performers (biwa hōshi). The root of Biwa music was The Tale of the Heike. [7] Biwa hōshi organized into a guild-like association. The biwa is Japan's traditional instrument. [citation needed]
Shamisen – a banjo-like lute with three strings; brought to Japan from China in the 16th century. Popular in Edo's pleasure districts, the shamisen is often used in kabuki theater. Made from red sandalwood and ranging from 1.1 to 1.4 metres (3 ft 7 in to 4 ft 7 in) long, the shamisen has ivory pegs, strings made from twisted silk, and a belly ...
Japanese traditional dance describes a number of Japanese dance styles with a long history and prescribed method of performance. Some of the oldest forms of traditional Japanese dance may be among those transmitted through the kagura tradition, or folk dances relating to food producing activities such as planting rice ( dengaku ) and fishing ...
The sanxian (Chinese lute) arrived in Japan at Sakai, Osaka via Ryukyu near the end of the Sengoku period. Blind musicians known as biwa hōshi at Tōdōza improved the instrument and created what would be the shamisen. They used the plectrum of the Japanese biwa to play the shamisen, thus creating the beginning of jiuta as shamisen music.
Kagura suzu are a set of twelve-to-fifteen bells on a short-staff used in kagura dance. [ 1 ] [ 2 ] The set consists of three tiers of bells suspended by coiled brass wires from a central handle: two bells on the top tier, four bells on the middle tier, and six bells for the bottom tier.