We have pretty amazing opportunities here on base to learn about Japanese culture. Every month Airman Family Readiness Center sets up a whole bunch of activities/excursions to interesting places in the area. They are all free. Some of the activities they offer is teaching you how to shop at Japanese stores, make traditional Japanese food, Japanese crafts, and even how to dress in a kimono. This time, I signed up for a class that taught us the how to play Koto—national musical instrument of Japan.
Koto has thirteen strings, it is about 180 cm (71 in) long and is made of kiri wood. Its strings are strung over thirteen movable bridges along the width of the instrument. To adjust string pitches, you move the bridges before playing, and then use three finger picks (on thumb, index finger, and middle finger) to pluck the strings.
Those picks for fingers are made of ivory and are called Tsume, meaning nail in Japanese.
This is our sensei, Kurimura. She has a dozen of kotos set up in her living room and she teaches private lessons as well.
The best sound is achieved by sitting at a 45 degree angle from the instrument.
We only had an hour to learn to play a couple of songs. It seems that you can only play only certain notes with bridges in each position—sort of like a stationary guitar (maybe?). We learned “Sakura, Sakura”-traditional Japanese melody, and “Mary Had a Little Lamb”—just for fun. Here is my attempt to perform for you-haha
Mary had a little lamb
Overall, I think the fact that I play the piano didn’t help at all to play koto-haha. It was a very different feeling to be plucking the strings with Tsume. I have seen koto musicians perform and they sound amazing, so I understand why Japanese love this instrument so much. Nevertheless, I won’t be buying one of these any time soon. Great cultural experience though!
Lyana
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