Kokyu

The kokyu is a string instrument played with a bow. It is called "Kucho" in the Okinawan dialect. Although it was supposedly introduced to Okinawa from China along with the sanshin, its material, shape and sound are unique to Okinawa.

It is 70 cm (28 inches) tall, with a neck made of ebony and body made of snakeskin wrapped on hollowed coconut or Stylax japonica trees. It has three strings and is played upright, with the horsetail-strung bow rubbing against the strings.

Since Shinei Matayoshi, a kokyu and sanshin musician and sanshin producer, invented and popularized the four-stringed Kokyu in order to expand its range, the kokyu has become much more popular.