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 ...

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 ...