Japanese music features a mixture of indigenous instruments and influence from Chinese musical culture. A number of different genres are significant.
Gagaku
Hogaku
Kumi-Daiko
The biwa is a type of lute played with a triangular "plectrum," or pick. It features in Japanese oral minstrel tradition.
The hichiriki is a unique double-reed instrument with a reverse-conical bore that gives it a loud, piercing sound. It is used prominently in gagaku.
The koto is a plucked-string zither and has been used in Japan since the seventh century and having one in the home is considered a sign of cultural refinement.
The kotsuzumi is a portable drum used in theater and folk music. It is held in the left hand and struck with the right to create a variety of different tones.
The ryuteki is a transverse flute made from bamboo and usually found performing the melody in gagaku, but sometimes also in folk music.
The shakuhachi is often heard accompanying koto and shamisen, but is also famous for having doubled as a blunt club weapon by monks of the Edo Period when swords were outlawed.
One of the most common Japanese instruments, the shamisen is a large plucked string instrument, often played with a plectrum. It is used in practically all genres of Japanese folk music.
The shoko is a small gong used in gagaku.
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