CHARACTER HOME PAGE

Japanese zither; stringed instrument; Western instrument
Kanji 1178

Thank you for visiting this Character Home Page. Below you'll find a synopsis of the essay. If you wish to read the full text, the PDF of the essay is available for purchase to the right.

Synopsis

The koto (Japanese zither) connects to dragons, blindness, class differences, rice paddies, marriage, and an important myth. Find out why one needs to read each 琴 in 琴の琴 with different yomi. See which natural feature in Japan was named after a type of 琴, and learn about hidden kotos in the garden. Also discover certain Japanese words that always pull on people's heartstrings.   

Revision history:

Mar. 22, 2024: 

  • p. 14: Deleted a broken link and the surrounding text in the photo caption. Also slightly revised other parts of that caption.
  • p. 17, 1st photo caption: Deleted a broken link and the surrounding text.

Feb. 10, 2022: 

  • p. 2, Etymology Box: Updated the Henshall etymology, updated the Sears link, improved one image, and deleted the second (as it didn't match Sears's new analysis).
  • p. 19: Added a link to the Kanshudo games.

July 8, 2016: Originally published.

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Kanji PDF
Cover of essay 1178 on 琴, titled "Dragon with Strings"
Mini Profile
JOYO ON-YOMI
キン
JOYO KUN-YOMI
こと
STROKES12
RADICAL王 (96: jewel)
JLPTN1
HALPERN1778/2422
HENSHALL1178/1235
SPAHN4f8.11