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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).
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 ...
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.
Tsuruta specialized in the ancient pear-shaped plucked lute called the biwa, [1] and also sang. She developed her own form of the Satsuma biwa, [ 2 ] which is sometimes referred to as Tsuruta biwa. This biwa differs from the traditional Satsuma biwa in the number of frets, construction of the head, and occasionally a doubled 4th string.
Japanese folk songs (min'yō) can be grouped and classified in many ways but it is often convenient to think of five main categories: fisherman's work song, farmer's work song; lullaby; religious songs (such as sato kagura, a form of Shintoist music) songs used for gatherings such as weddings, funerals, and festivals (matsuri, especially Obon)
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Rin' is an all-female Japanese pop group which combines traditional Japanese musical instruments and style with elements of modern pop and rock music. It is a female trio of Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music alumni who graduated in 2003.
The biwa has 4, or occasionally 5 frets, is played in minimalist fashion with a single "pick" the size of a small frying pan, and is used primarily as a drone behind other gagaku instruments, or as an accompaniment for voice in folk music. All in all, both the biwa as an instrument, and biwa playing style and musical function are far cruder and ...