History
of the Biwa
By Eri Terao
The
origin of the biwa is in the Middle East: Turkey and Iraq. There,
it is called "Udo". It became the guitar when it migrated
to the west. When it migrated to the east, it became the "papi."
When it migrated to Japan, it became a "biwa."
The
biwa came to Japan from China, but China and Japan developed it
differently. The Chinese papi increased the number of strings thus
it was possible to express a very fine tune. It is usually played
fast using five fingers.
But
the Japanese biwa was developed as an accompaniment to narration.
The Japanese biwa has few strings and it characteristically enjoys
a delicate pitch, reverberation and quietness.
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