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The 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 in the Okinawan 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 ''sankyoku'' ensemble, along with the ''koto'' and ''shamisen'', but beginning in the 20th century the ''shakuhachi'' most often plays the role previously filled by the ''kokyū''. Since Shinei Matayoshi, a ''kokyū'' and ''sanshin'' musician and ''sanshin'' maker, invented and popularized a four-stringed version of the ''kokyū'' in order to expand the instrument's range, the ''kokyū'' has become much more popular. A ''kokyū'' society, dedicated to promoting the instrument, exists in Japan. The ''kokyū'' has also been used in jazz and blues, with the American multi-instrumentalist Eric Golub pioneering the instrument's use in these non-traditional contexts. One of the few non-Japanese performers of the instrument, he has recorded as a soloist as well as with the cross-cultural jazz band of John Kaizan Neptune. The ''kokyū'' is similar to two Chinese bowed lutes with fingerboards: the ''leiqin'' and the ''zhuihu''. In Japanese, the term ''kokyū'' may refer broadly to any bowed string instrument of Asian origin, as does the Chinese term ''huqin''. Thus, the Chinese ''erhu'', which is also used by some performers in Japan, is sometimes described as a ''kokyū'', along with the ''kūchō'', ''leiqin'', and ''zhuihu''. The specific Japanese name for erhu is ''niko''. ==See also== *Shamisen *Sankyoku *Leiqin *Zhuihu *Erhu 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Kokyū」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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