{"id":73853,"date":"2026-08-13T19:50:44","date_gmt":"2026-08-13T19:50:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/japan\/73853\/"},"modified":"2026-08-13T19:50:44","modified_gmt":"2026-08-13T19:50:44","slug":"kotos-timeless-sound-resonates-in-yamaguchi-prefecture-japan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/japan\/73853\/","title":{"rendered":"Koto\u2019s timeless sound resonates in Yamaguchi prefecture, Japan"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"A<\/p>\n

\n Koto maker Teruhiko Tamashige strings an instrument at his workshop in Yamaguchi prefecture, Japan, Oct. 23, 2025. (Seth Robson\/Stars and Stripes)
\n <\/p>\n

The koto is a traditional Japanese 13-stringed musical instrument that resembles a horizontal harp.<\/p>\n

Think of the sound you\u2019d expect to hear when geishas are entertaining samurai in an ancient castle. <\/p>\n

You can hear Japan\u2019s national instrument and see craftsmen build them during a visit to Tamashige Koto Workshop in Ube, about 90 minutes\u2019 drive from Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni in Yamaguchi prefecture, Japan. <\/p>\n

The workshop, in a roadside warehouse, is full of kotos in various stages of construction. The smell of sawdust wafts through the building as craftsmen go about their work. <\/p>\n

The Tamashige company began in the late 19th century when the first owner, Shintaro Tamashige, started selling musical instruments, according to the company\u2019s website. <\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

\n A craftsman works inside Tamashige Koto Workshop in Yamaguchi prefecture, Japan, Oct. 23, 2025. (Seth Robson\/Stars and Stripes)
\n <\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

\n Koto maker Teruhiko Tamashige strings an instrument at his workshop in Yamaguchi prefecture, Japan, Oct. 23, 2025. (Seth Robson\/Stars and Stripes)
\n <\/p>\n

At that time, the area where the workshop stands flourished with high demand for traditional Japanese musical instruments such as the koto, three-string shamisen (Japanese banjo), biwa (Japanese lute) and taiko drums. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe Tamashige koto, a crystallization of traditional techniques, is cherished by teachers from various schools,\u201d according to the company. <\/p>\n

Making a koto is a complex process. <\/p>\n

One room of the workshop is filled with countless scraps of wood, tools, glue, strings and other items. The hollow bodies of the musical instruments stack against a wall like surfboards. <\/p>\n

\"Polished<\/p>\n

\n Newly made traditional Japanese musical instruments are stored at Tamashige Koto Workshop in Yamaguchi prefecture, Japan, Oct. 23, 2025. (Seth Robson\/Stars and Stripes)
\n <\/p>\n

On the day Stars and Stripes visited, koto maker Teruhiko Tamashige was stringing an instrument.<\/p>\n

The 66-year-old musician and company president has made thousands of kotos. An Elvis Presley fan, he is a skilled musician who once played electric guitar in a rock band. <\/p>\n

Each koto is around 6 feet long and a foot wide and made from kiri wood, chosen for its light weight and acoustic qualities. <\/p>\n

The instrument has 13 strings pulled across moveable bridges, often made of plastic, that allow them to be tuned. <\/p>\n

Players use \u201ctsume\u201d or finger picks, to pluck the strings while they press the strings to make music. <\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

\n Musician Tomoki Tamashige plays a koto in Yamaguchi prefecture, Japan, Oct. 23, 2025. (Seth Robson\/Stars and Stripes)
\n <\/p>\n

You can buy a koto at the workshop. A standard instrument costs a little over $500, or you can opt for a shorter 2 \u00bd-foot koto for around $300. <\/p>\n

You can listen to a musician play the finished product at the workshop. Close your eyes and it\u2019s possible to imagine you are the shogun, sitting under a cherry tree and meditating on the transience of falling sakura petals. <\/p>\n

On the QT<\/p>\n

Directions: 692-2 Funaki, Ube, Yamaguchi 757-0216; about 90 minutes by car from Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni; from Ube Station, 18 minutes by bus. <\/p>\n

Times: 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday to Friday; closed on public holidays. Weekend morning visits by appointment. <\/p>\n

Costs: Free admission. <\/p>\n

Food: You\u2019ll find a diner and coffee shop within walking distance. <\/p>\n

Information: Phone: 0836-67-0175 Online: tamakoto.com<\/a> (Japanese)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Koto maker Teruhiko Tamashige strings an instrument at his workshop in Yamaguchi prefecture, Japan, Oct. 23, 2025. (Seth…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":73854,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[30891,8,17,4339,47516,9356],"class_list":["post-73853","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-japan","tag-instrument","tag-japan","tag-japanese","tag-koto","tag-stringed","tag-yamaguchi"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/japan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/73853","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/japan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/japan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/japan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/japan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=73853"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/japan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/73853\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/japan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/73854"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/japan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=73853"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/japan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=73853"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/japan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=73853"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}