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biwa
Sign in to saveThe is a Japanese short-necked wooden lute traditionally used in narrative storytelling. The 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).
Key facts
- Instrument.image
- File:Gifujyou5848.JPG
- Instrument.caption
- A selection of in a Japanese museum
- Instrument.classification
- Necked bowl lutes String instruments
- Instrument.related
- Archlute Banjo Bipa Charango Electric pipa Irish bouzouki Lute Mandola Mandolin (Turkish) Theorbo Veena
via Wikipedia infobox
Wikidata facts
- Subclass of
- traditional Japanese musical instrument
- Country
- Japan
- Image
- Satsuma-biwa (19th century), Japan - MIM PHX.jpg
- Said to be same as
- pipa
Show 3 more facts
- described by source
- Encyclopædia Britannica 11th edition
- Hornbostel-Sachs classification
- 321.321
- Commons category
- Biwa
Sources (2)
via Wikidata · CC0
~20 min read
Encyclopedic overview
21 sectionsContents
- History
- Types
- Classic {{transliteration|ja|biwa}}
- {{transliteration|ja|Gagaku-biwa}}
- {{transliteration|ja|Gogen-biwa}}
- {{transliteration|ja|Mōso-biwa}}
- Middle and Edo {{transliteration|ja|biwa}}
- {{transliteration|ja|Heike-biwa}}
- {{transliteration|ja|Satsuma-biwa}}
- Modern {{Transliteration|ja|biwa}}
- {{Transliteration|ja|Chikuzen-biwa}}
- {{transliteration|ja|Nishiki-biwa}}
- Styles of {{transliteration|ja|biwa}} music
- {{transliteration|ja|Biwa}} construction and tuning
- Use in modern music
- In popular culture
- Recordings
- See also
- Notes
- References
- External links
The is a Japanese short-necked wooden lute traditionally used in narrative storytelling. The 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).
Typically to in length, the instrument is constructed of a water drop–shaped body with a short neck, typically with four (though sometimes five) strings.
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “biwa” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.