The development of koto music was one of Japan’s most valuable contributions to the history of classical music. Some scholars trace the instrument back to the 8th Century or earlier, but koto music became firmly established in the 16th Century. The present-day 13 stringed instrument and the music written for it are inherited from that time. Originally a court instrument, the koto with its harp like sound became a symbol of gentility and good taste in the home. Playing the koto well is an accomplishment that enhances the marital prospects of well-bred Japanese girls.
Koto music is divided into two distinct types. There is a kind, which accompanies singing, and another, which is solely instrumental. The oldest known form of vocal koto music was called Kumiata, which was a group of short poems set to music to be sung in a given order. In the later koto music that developed fro...
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