Tonkori

A tonkori is a stringed instrument that was played by the Ainu people of Hokkaidō (Japanese North Island ). The structure is very similar to the zither.

The number of strings tonkori varies between three and five strings, which are made from animal tendons or vegetable fibers. The body is made from local Ajan spruce (Picea jezoensis ). Playing the tonkori is held vertically.

Due to the Japanese colonization, there are only little documentation about the Ainu culture and the tonkori. The musician Oki Kano, a descendant of the Ainu, published with his album " tonkori " a reconstruction of the play and the sound of the instrument.

Swell

  • Alison Tokita: The Ashgate research companion to Japanese music, Ashgate Publishing, Burlington 2008
  • Zither instrument
  • Plucked
  • Chordophone
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