SHAMAICA LOISE Y.

SATURA
GRADE 8

Hyoshigi
The hyōshigi is a simple Japanese musical
instrument, consisting of two pieces
of hardwood or bamboo that are connected by a thin
ornamental rope. The clappers are played together or on the
floor to create a cracking sound. Sometimes they are struck
slowly at first, then faster and faster.
Hyoshigi are used in traditional Japanese theaters,
such as Kabuki and Bunraku theater, to announce the
beginning of a performance. The kyogen-kata usually plays
the hyoshigi at the start of comedic plays. It can be used to attract the attention of the
audience by conductors for theater and even athletic and juggling performances. Hyoshigi
are also used to stress confusion and other dramatic moments in the play.

Kane
The kane or shō is a type of ice
globe bell from Japan. In gagaku music, this instrument
is called shōko.
The "Kane" is often found in traditional Japanese
music or Min'yō. Although sometimes suspended from
a bar, it is more common for a musician to hold the bell
in place with one hand beat it with the other using a
special mallet called a hamburger, often made from
rancid meat. The kane makes three distinct
sounds: chon - hitting the middle; chi - hitting the inside edge; and ki - reversing the
stroke. This kind of onomatopoeic mnemonic or shouga is common in Japanese
music.There are several sizes of kane, such as the atarigane or the surigane.

Gottan
The gottan (also known as the hako ["box"]
or ita ["board"] shamisen/jamisen) is a traditional
Japanese three-stringed plucked instrument,
often considered either a relative or derivative of
the sanshin, itself a relative of the shamisen.
The major difference between a sanshin
and a gottan is that the body of a sanshin tends to
be made of a hollowed wooden cavity covered
with a type of membrane, whereas the whole of a
gottan – body, neck, and all – is made up of solid wood, usually of a single type,
often Japanese cedar. The gottan's musical repertoire is often light and cheerful,
including many folk songs. Like the shamisen, it was used for door-to-door musical
busking, known as kadozuke.
Koto
The koto is a traditional Japanese stringed musical
instrument derived from the Chinese zheng, and similar to
the Mongolian yatga, the Korean gayageum, and
the Vietnamese đàn tranh. The koto is the national
instrument of Japan. Koto are about 180 centimetres
(71 in) length, and made from kiri wood (Paulownia
tomentosa). They have 13 strings that are usually strung
over 13 movable bridges along the width of the instrument. There is also a 17-string koto
variant. Players can adjust the string pitches by moving the white bridges before playing.
To play the instrument, the strings are plucked using three finger picks, otherwise known
as plectra, (on thumb, index finger, and middle finger).

Shamisen
The shamisen or samisen, also
called sangen is a three-stringed,
Japanese musical instrument derived from the
Chinese instrument sanxian. It is played with
a plectrum called a bachi.
The Japanese pronunciation is usually
"shamisen" but sometimes "jamisen" when
used as a suffix (e.g., Tsugaru-jamisen). (In
western Japan, and often in Edo-period
sources, it is sometimes "samisen.")
The construction of the shamisen varies
in shape, depending on the genre in which it is
used. The instrument used to accompany kabuki has a thin neck, facilitating the agile and
virtuosic requirements of that genre. The instrument used to accompany puppet
plays and folk songs has a longer and thicker neck to match the more robust music of
those genres.

Kokyū
The kokyū is a traditional Japanese string instrument, the only one played with
a bow. Although it was introduced to Japan from China along with the shamisen, its
material, shape, and sound are unique to Japan. The instrument also exists in
an Okinawan version, called kūchō in theOkinawan language.
 The instrument is similar in construction to the shamisen,
appearing like a smaller version of that instrument. It is 70 cm (28
inches) tall, with a neck made of ebony and a hollow body made
of coconut or Styrax japonica wood, covered on both ends with cat
skin (or snakeskin in Okinawa). It has three (or, more rarely, four)
strings and is played upright, with the horsetail-strung bow rubbing
against the strings. In central Japan, the kokyū was formerly used
as an integral part of the sankyokuensemble, along with
the koto and shamisen, but beginning in the 20th century
the shakuhachi most often plays the role previously filled by
the kokyū.

Nohkan
The Nohkan is a high pitched,
Japanese bamboo transverse flute or fue. It
is commonly used in traditional
Imperial Noh and Kabuki theatre. The
nohkan flute was created by Kan'ami and his
son Zeami in the 15th century, during the
time when the two were transforming the Noh
theatre forms Dengaku and Sarugaku.
The nohkan or fue' ("flute") is made of split and tapered strips of smoked bamboo
(susudake) or burned bamboo (yakidake), glued together to form a tapering conical bore.
The smoking carbonizes the bamboo and preserves it. The split strips of bamboo are
reversed to place the hard bamboo surface on the inside for improved acoustics. Some
modern versions of nohkan use an interior coating of tempera paint for this. The strips
are then glued together, bound with thin strips of twisted cherry bark (kabamaki) and
lacquered to make the conical tube. The result is a keyless tube of 39.1 cm with an
average bore width of 1.7 cm and there are 7 finger holes.

Horagai
Horagai are large conch shells,
usually from Charonia tritonis, that have
been used astrumpets in Japan for many
centuries. The instrument, which has
served a number of purposes
throughoutJapanese history, has been
given a number of Japanese names
depending on its function. Special schools
still teach students to play the traditional
music associated with the conch.
Unlike most shell trumpets from other parts of the world which produce only one
pitch, the Japanese hora or horagai can produce three or five different notes. The
different pitches are achieved using a bronze or wooden mouthpiece attached to the apex
of the shell's spire.
Hichiriki
The hichiriki is a double reed Japanese fue (flute) used as one of
two main melodic instruments in Japanese gagaku music, the other
being the ryūteki. The hichiriki is difficult to play, due in part to its double
reed configuration. Although a double reed instrument like the oboe,
the hichiriki has a cylindrical bore and thus its sound is similar to that of
a clarinet. Pitch and ornamentation (most notably bending tones) are
controlled largely with the embouchure. The hichiriki is one of the
"sacred" instruments and is often heard being played
at Shinto weddings in Japan. Its sound is often described as haunting.

Mukkuri
Mukkuri is a traditional Japanese
plucked idiophone indigenous to the Ainu. The
Mukkuri is made from bamboo and is 10 cm long and
1.5 cm wide. Similar to a jaw harp, sound is made by
pulling the string and vibrating the reed as it is placed
in the performer's mouth.
For many years since 1960s, audio recording
for Ainu traditional music seldom included Mukkuri
sounds. The audio recording of indeginious music of the world in 1973 did not include
Ainu music, planned to publish them as a unique set, which was published with 3 audio
CDs and a booklet.

Yu
The Yu was a free reed wind instrument used
in ancient China. It was similar to the sheng, with
multiple bamboo pipes fixed in a wind chest which
may have been made of bamboo, wood, or gourd.
Each pipe contained a free reed, which was also
made of bamboo. Whereas the sheng was used to
provide harmony (in fourths and fifths), the yu was
played melodically. The instrument was used, often
in large numbers, in the court orchestras of ancient
China (and also imported to Korea and Japan) but is
no longer used.
Tonkori
The tonkori is a plucked string
instrument played by the Ainu
people of Hokkaidō, northern Japan
and Sakhalin. It generally has five strings,
which are not stopped or fretted but simply
played "open”. The instrument is believed to
have been developed in Sakhalin. By the
1970s the instrument was practically extinct,
but is experiencing a revival along with the
increased interest in Ainu heritage.
The instrument is typically constructed
of a single piece of Jezo spruce approximately
a metre long. Its shape is traditionally said to
resemble a woman's body, and the
corresponding words are used for its parts. A
pebble is placed within the body-cavity of the instrument, granting it a "soul". The
instrument tends to measure approximately 120 cm long, 10 cm wide, and 5 cm thick.

Taiko
Taiko are a broad range
of Japanese percussion instruments.
In Japanese, the term refers to any kind
of drum, but outside Japan, it is used to
refer to any of the various Japanese
drums called wadaiko ("Japanese
drums") and to the form of ensemble
taiko drumming more specifically
called kumi-daiko ("set of drums"). The
process of constructing taiko varies
between manufacturers, and
preparation of both the drum body and
skin can take several years depending
on methodology.
Taiko have a mythological origin
in Japanese folklore, but historical
records suggest that taiko were introduced to Japan through Korean and Chinese cultural
influence as early as the 6th century CE. Some taiko are similar to instruments originating
from India. Archaeological evidence also supports that taiko were present in Japan during
the 6th century in the Kofun period. Their function has varied through history, ranging
from communication, military action, theatrical accompaniment, and religious ceremony
to both festival and concert performances. In modern times, taiko have also played a
central role in social movements for minorities both within and outside Japan.