Biwa History

[What](Description): The BIWA, a Japanese short-necked fretted lute, is distinguished by its graceful, pear-shaped body. It has a shallow, rounded back and silk strings (usually four or five) attached to slender lateral pegs. The biwa is the chosen instrument of Benten, goddess of music, eloquence, poetry, and education in Buddhism.

[How]: The instrument is played with a large wedge-shaped plectrum called a bachi. The strings are tuned in fourths, and the melody is played almost exclusively on the highest pitched string.

[Where]:The biwa came to Japan in the 7th century and it was evolved from the Chinese instrument pipa.

[Why]: While the route is unclear, another type of biwa found its way to the Kyushu region, and this thin biwa (called

By the Kamakura period (1185–1333), the heike-biwa had emerged as a popular instrument. The heike-biwa could be described as a cross between both the gaku-biwa and mōsō-biwa. It retained the rounded shape of the gaku-biwa and was played with a large plectrum like the mōsō-biwa. The heike biwa was smaller than the mōsō-biwa and was used for similar purposes.

While the modern satsuma-biwa and chikuzen-biwa both find their origin with the mōsō-biwa, the Satsuma biwa was used for moral and mental training by samurai of the Satsuma Domain during the Warring States period, and later in general performances. The Chikuzen biwa was used by Buddhist monks visiting private residences to perform memorial services, not only for Buddhist rites, but also for telling entertaining stories and news while accompanying themselves on the biwa, and this form of storytelling was thought to be spread in this

Its plectrum is small and thin, often rounded, and made from hard materials such as boxwood or ivory. It is not used to accompany singing. Like the heike biwa, it is played held on its side, similar to a guitar, with the player sitting cross-legged. It is the most commonly known type of biwa

- Gogen-biwa – This T'ang variant of biwa can be seen in paintings of court orchestras and was used in the context of gagaku, however was removed with the reforms and standardizations made to the court orchestra during the late 10th Century. It is assumed that the performance traditions died out by the 10th or 11th century (William P. Malm). This is instrument also disappeared in the Chinese court orchestras. Recently, this instrument, much like the Kugo harp has been revived for historically informed performances and historical reconstructions. Not to be confused with the five-stringed variants of modern biwa, such as Chikuzen biwa.

- Mōsō-biwa – A biwa with four strings used to play Buddhist mantra and songs. It is similar in shape to the chikuzen-biwa, but with a much more narrow body. Its plectrum varies in both size and materials. The four fret type is tuned to E, B, E and A, and the five fret type is tuned to B, e, f♯ and f♯. The six fret type is tuned to B♭, E♭, B♭