Spirit of Wa: Masterpieces for the Koto — Japan’s Beautiful Melodies
The koto is an instrument with a soft tone and an enchanting sound.
Koto music is perfect for quintessentially Japanese occasions like New Year’s celebrations.
When you listen to it, it feels familiar to the ear and calms the heart.
In this article, I’d like to introduce many famous koto pieces.
By the way, I’ve been using the character “琴” for koto, but some of you might be thinking, shouldn’t it be “箏”?
Strictly speaking, “koto” (琴) and “koto/so” (箏) refer to different instruments.
However, since I want to cover as many pieces as possible, I’m using “koto” here as an umbrella term.
Please read on to the end.
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- [I Want Healing] Songs That Bring a Sense of Calm: Heartwarming Masterpieces of Japanese Music
- Traditional Japanese Music: Famous Pieces of Gagaku and Kagura. Recommended Traditional Japanese Music
- A Collection of Moving Shakuhachi Masterpieces | Beautiful Japanese Melodies That Stir the Heart
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- [Hometown Songs] A curated selection of popular Japanese tracks that fill your heart with nostalgia
- Makoto Kawamoto’s famous and popular songs
- [Kyoto Songs] Masterpieces that sing about Kyoto — songs themed on the ancient capital. The enduring heart of our hometown passed down in song.
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- Nothing but masterpieces! Hit songs from the Reiwa era that are perfect for background music
- Band songs perfect for winter nights: heartwarming masterpieces of Japanese music.
Spirit of Wa: Masterpieces for Koto. Beautiful Melodies of Japan (11–20)
Koto music: HigurashiMiyagi Michio
Here is a piece from the Taisho era by Michio Miyagi.
Best known for composing the New Year standard “Haru no Umi,” he moved with his family to Incheon in what is now the Republic of Korea during his boyhood due to his parents’ work.
Since he hadn’t learned that many pieces in Japan, he composed his own koto music to expand his repertoire and reportedly began teaching koto in his own studio at the age of 13.
Such remarkable drive, isn’t it? This piece was created with the image of evening cicadas (higurashi) calling at dusk in late summer.
Song of the Autumn WindKozaki Kengyo
This piece was composed by Kengyō Kōzaki during the Tenpō era of the Edo period.
It portrays the romance between Emperor Xuanzong of Tang and Yang Guifei.
Gammon Makita wrote the lyrics based on Bai Letian’s “Changhenge” (Song of Everlasting Sorrow), and Kōzaki Kengyō set them to music.
The piece uses a unique tuning method known as Akikaze-jōshi (“autumn wind” tuning).
It consists of a prelude played on the instrument alone, followed by the sung section.
Because performing it requires singing, it may be challenging for those planning to start learning the koto now.
But that’s exactly why it’s worth the challenge!
vortexKagrra
‘Uzu’ is a song with a beautiful intro melody that begins on the koto, showcasing a superb harmony between rock sound and the traditional instrument.
It is a work by Kagrra, a visual-kei rock band that made their major debut in 2004 with a neo-Japanesque style of creating and performing music based on traditional Japanese sounds.
Spring SeaMiyagi Michio
The koto’s melodies, steeped in Japan’s history, are perfect for evoking the seasons.
Haru no Umi, composed by Michio Miyagi—also renowned as a man of letters—is a beloved national piece known as New Year’s background music.
As soon as the koto’s intro begins, it feels like the year has turned and a bright new start is at hand.
The beautiful interplay with the shakuhachi conveys the spirit of wa (Japanese harmony).
Brimming with wabi-sabi and gentle warmth, it’s a piece you’ll want to hear not only at New Year’s but whenever there’s something to celebrate.
Ekusō KotoSawai Higarū
Hikaru Sawai continues to compose new pieces for the koto.
Given his background of having made a major-label debut as a guitarist in a metal band, some of his works evoke the feel of “rock on koto.” If a standard koto is like the guitar, then the 17-string koto serves as the bass, projecting a powerful low end.
Unlike traditional koto repertoire, these pieces offer a different image—one that might inspire younger generations to think, “I want to play the koto” in this genre.
It’s music that hints at the future potential of the koto.
Etenraku
Etenraku, one of the pieces of gagaku, is among the most famous works in the repertoire.
It is said to have once had an accompanying dance, but only the music has been handed down today.
It’s sad to see such wonderful cultural assets being lost.
In gagaku there are six modes, classified by scale type and the pitch of the principal tones, and this piece is most often performed in the mode called hyōjō.
Unlike Western music, it’s also interesting that the tones are written with Chinese characters.
There is also Etenraku Imayō, a version that sets lyrics to Etenraku, so it’s fun to compare the two by listening.
[Spirit of Wa] Masterpieces for Koto: Japan’s Beautiful Melodies (21–30)
Mode of YatsudanYatsuhashi Kengyō
This is a piece composed by Yatsuhashi Kengyō, a koto performer and composer from the early Edo period.
Yatsuhashi Kengyō is known as the father of modern koto music, and he is also said to be the origin of Kyoto’s famous sweet, yatsuhashi.
He was reputed to be a master not only of the koto, but also of the shamisen and kokyū.
This piece is one of the danmono—an umbrella term for compositions with a sectional (dan) structure—and, as its name suggests, it consists of eight sections.
Some say it was composed by Kurahashi Kengyō, Yatsuhashi’s grand-disciple.
It’s truly remarkable how such a piece has been handed down for hundreds of years.