Gottan

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Two gottan

The gottan (ごったん), also known as the hako shamisen ("box

traditional Japanese three-stringed plucked instrument, often considered either a relative or derivative of the sanshin, itself a relative of the shamisen
.

Differences

The major difference between a sanshin and a gottan is that the body of a sanshin tends to be made of a hollowed wooden cavity covered with a type of membrane, whereas the whole of a gottan – body,

The gottan's musical repertoire is often light and cheerful, including many folk songs.[citation needed] Like the shamisen, it was used for door-to-door musical busking, known as kadozuke.[3]

Often the gottan is compared to the kankara sanshin, an Okinawan instrument related to the sanshin, due to its relative inexpensiveness (made from a used metal can) and ease of construction. The equivalent all-wood Okinawan instrument is the ita sanshin.[1]: 22 

References

  1. ^ . Retrieved 6 January 2013.
  2. ^ Experimental Musical Instruments. Experimental Musical Instruments. 1993. p. 35. Retrieved 6 January 2013.
  3. . Retrieved 6 January 2013.
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