86 BULLETIN 136, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM 



various sorts which are not fretted. A characteristic of the instru- 

 ment is the plectrum, which is usually of metal, and may be de- 

 scribed as an open ring with a sharp spur. It is worn on the thumb 

 and used on the accompaniment strings, which are nearest the player, 

 while the open strings are plucked by the fingers. 



An Italian zither (95238) has 33 strings. Two American con- 

 cert zithers are 55688, received by the Museum in 1882, and 93646 

 (pi. 47a), with 5 stopped and 27 open strings, was received in 1887 

 as a gift from Rudolph Heinrichs. 



The psaltery, an important member of this class of instruments, is 

 considered on page 91. 



The koto is the national instrument of Japan and is characterized 

 by its long, narrow, sounding board. While the koto of the present 

 day is the result of a long period of development, the form of the 

 instrument has always been the same. According to Piggott "the 

 koto is fantastically supposed to be a dragon, symbolical of all that 

 is noble and precious, lying on the seashore holding such sweet con- 

 verse with the waves that the angels come to sit and listen by his 

 side." Thus the upper surface of the instrument is called the 

 dragon's back and the under surface his belly. The upper part of 

 the side is a seashore, the long bridge at the right end is the dragon's 

 horn, and the projection is his forked tongue. The long bridge at 

 the left end is the horn of cloud or the angel's seat and the projection 

 is the dragon's tail. 



The numerous forms of the instrument are divided by Piggott into 

 three groups: 



First, those with one or more strings tuned in unison or to a fifth attached 

 to tuning pegs and played with a " tsume " [plectrum], the notes being produced 

 by stopping ; secondly, those with a fixed bridge at each end with many strings 

 tuned in different ways but without tuning pegs, the strings being permanently 

 stretched and the notes produced by stopping as before, the tsume not being 

 used in general : thirdly, those with a movable bridge or loose fret for each 

 string. 



The material of koto strings is tightly twisted silk soaked in wax, 

 the strings frequently varying in thickness and in heaviness of waxen 

 coating. The length of the instrument is a little more than 6 feet; 

 it is laid on the ground and the player squats near the upper end of 

 it. Two ivory plectra are used, one (a section of a cylinder) being 

 held between the thumb and first finger of the right hand and the 

 other (a heavy cylinder 2y 2 inches long) being worn on the second 

 finger of the left hand. 



The one-stringed koto is said to have been invented in the Engl 

 era, A. D. 901. Tradition states that it was invented by an exiled 

 nobleman to chase away his melancholy, his original instrument 

 being: a string stretched across his hat. A one-stringed koto 



