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Of the traditional instruments, the koto is probably the most familiar and popular. A number of elementary and middle schools hold classes in traditional music, though, and arrange outings to theaters and concert halls to see and hear traditional performing arts.
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Sadly, modern Japanese rarely hear these traditional instruments being played live these days. It's also commonly performed with the shamisen and shakuhachi or as accompaniment to songs. Initially, it was performed in ensembles with other stringed and wind instruments, but eventually it came to be performed by itself. It was the 13-string koto that was carried to Japan during the Nara period (710-794). Originally it had only 5 strings but increased to 12 strings and then to 13. Historians think the koto was born around the fifth to third century B.C. The left hand presses down on the strings to bend notes and create other effects. It's played with picks worn on the fingers, similar to those used in playing the guitar. It has a curved face, and the pitch is adjusted with movable bridges placed under each string. It's around 160 centimeters (63 inches) to 200 centimeters (79 inches) long and about 20 centimeters (12 inches) across. The koto, meanwhile, is a large, wooden instrument with 13 strings. These five holes are enough to produce a complete range of sounds in fact, it's the small number of holes that gives the shakuhachi its distinctively poignant tone. There are four holes in the front and one in the back, and so it's sometimes called a "five-holed bamboo flute" in English. The shakuhachi is a flute made of bamboo that's played by blowing on one end.