This CD presents five of the most known pieces of the Japanese koto repertoire. Three of the pieces are performed by a koto duet.

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The very recognizable koto is one of the first instruments one thinks of when the subject of Japanese music comes up, and it was the instrument that jazz great McCoy Tyner chose to play when he combined jazz with Japanese music on his 1972 recording Valley of Life. This enjoyable CD, recorded in Tokyo, consists of traditional koto music (which is called sokyoku in Japan) and turns the spotlight on six different koto players: Kin'ichi Nakanoshima, Fumikatsu Yonekawa, Fumiko Yonekawa, Koji Inogawa, Masayasu Mishina, and Kiyoko Miyagi.

Very Best of Japanese Music. I have a number of recordings of various fine koto players, and will continue to enjoy listening to them, but having a quality re-release of Eto Kimio was as exciting for me as the re-release of the complete recordings of William Kappell about ten years ago. As a musician and as a composer, he was in a class by himself. If I can ever find a recording of his Concerto for Koto, which he premiered with Leopold Stokowski (I don't know if it was ever recorded), I will be a totally happy person

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Japanese music - Koto music: The koto, a 13-stringed zither with movable bridges, has been mentioned as one of the basic instruments of the court ensembles as well as a common cultural accoutrement for court ladies. The development of independent solo and chamber music genres for that instrument becomes more evident as one moves into the Muromachi period (1338–1573). The earliest surviving school of solo koto music is Tsukushi-goto. It was first noted in the late 16th century on the island of Kyushu where, over the centuries, court refugees and exiles gathered during upheavals in Kyōto. In present-day Japan the Ikuta and Yamada schools remain popular, whereas the earlier traditions have faded considerably.

Album · 1992 · 5 Songs. Japanese Koto Orchestra. The Soul of the Koto: Master Musicians of the Ikuta and Yamada Schools. Venerated Patterns of China and Japan. C. Ikehara, Lorie Brau, Tim Liu & Yukio Nyosei Hyakuda. The Soul of the Koto Volume Two: Master Musicians of the Ikuta Ryu. Katsumasa Takasago. Japan: Kabuki & Other Traditional Music. Gagaku - The Imperial Court Music of Japan. Kyoto Imperial Court Music Orchestra. Zero ads. Try it now.

Details about the Japanese music recording: Koto Music of Japan, The. Information may include sound snippets, track names, performers and other details. Music of Six Steps is an "absolute" music consisting of six sections of 52 beats. Though this piece was originally composed for the koto, it later became fashionable to play it on the shamisen (three-stringed guitar-like instrument). The popularity of Rokudan was such that succeeding composers often adapted the melody.