Well, you are only about a millennium behind the times. But never fear. Opportunities to hear this ancient Chinese two-stringed instrument known for it’s plaintive humanlike tone are on the upswing. A ...

This is the sixth ina series of articles about classical Chinese instruments and the traditional Chinese music orchestra, in which we explore how musicians play the eight different types of instrument ...

Composer Miya Masaoka has started playing the "Laser Koto," a futuristic version of the traditional Japanese stringed instrument, the Koto, that's been around since the 8th century. Masaoka outfitted ...

The Japanese three-stringed musical instrument shamisen has a glorious history. Originating from the Chinese instrument sanxian, shamisen was introduced in the sixteenth century in Japan. Shamisen can ...

Japan's "shamisen" industry is struggling to preserve the distinctive sound of the three-stringed instrument integral to Japanese performing arts, as it runs into issues of animal ethics and a ...

Watch virtuoso Yumi Kurosawa perform and discuss music for the koto, a Japanese stringed instrument, alongside woodblock prints and ink paintings from our museum’s collections showing the instrument ...