Biwa

A biwa (琵琶) is a Japanese short-necked fretted lute, and a close variant of the Chinese pipa. The biwa is the chosen instrument of Benten, the White Snake Goddess of Japan's Shinto religion.

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The biwa reached Japan from China during the Nara Period (710-759 AD), and five instruments from that time are kept in the Sh?s?in, the national treasure house of Japan. One of them is decorated with Central Asian themes, including a camel. Wandering biwa players, similar to minstrels, were known as biwa hoshi (琵琶法師).

Japan: For other uses, see Japan (disambiguation)....

Lute: The lute is a plucked string instrument with a fretted neck and a deep round back. It evolved from an instrument originally developed in the Middle East, which was also the ancestor of the superficially similar oud. The words 'lute' and 'oud' are both derived from Arabic al‘ud, "the wood". The...

Pipa: ::This article is about pipa, a musical instrument. For the acronym PIPA, see Program on International Policy Attitudes....

Biwa related Images and Photos (experimental)

Flower of Secret Biwa Notes: Matsunami Kengyo in Fact Aku Hichibei