Japan and the Japanese illustrated . THE UKKKX l;il( Jaj^anese musical instruuicnts are also remarkable for their originality. Stringed in>trunients are iiiade of the lioht and sonorous wood of the PaulowniaimperkfVis, ami the strings are fine cords of silk thinly coated with lacquer. The samsiu and the guitar are, above all others, the popular iustruments ; theyare indispensable articles in the trousseau of a young bride. 171 LIFE IX JAPAN. The kukiou, a violoncello played uitli a Uow, is frequently used, and also thel)i\va, a violoncello played with the plectrum of the samsin. The Jap
Japan and the Japanese illustrated . THE UKKKX l;il( Jaj^anese musical instruuicnts are also remarkable for their originality. Stringed in>trunients are iiiade of the lioht and sonorous wood of the PaulowniaimperkfVis, ami the strings are fine cords of silk thinly coated with lacquer. The samsiu and the guitar are, above all others, the popular iustruments ; theyare indispensable articles in the trousseau of a young bride. 171 LIFE IX JAPAN. The kukiou, a violoncello played uitli a Uow, is frequently used, and also thel)i\va, a violoncello played with the plectrum of the samsin. The Japanese clarionet is made of bamboo, like, a flute, and they have also a sortof flageolette with eight holes. The Japanese use the trumpet and the marine conch exclusively in their religiousfestivals. They have two kinds of percussion instruments. One is made of copper orcomposite metal, and includes a great variety of gongs of various shapes : anidiigtlirui shields, bells, and tortoise, and the sound they produce varies between. -cf^^lu A NAMSIN HKI; VWii. the grave and sonorous and the S(jueaky and shrill. Besides these they havean instrument formed of two rings fastened on a handle, and struck by a lightniital rod. The other instruments of jiercussion are wooddi rattles, stone drums like bowls,which stand on low frames; a musical drum made of leather ; finally, the tom-tom,or portable tambourine, and the kettle drum. The tamltourines, which invarialily accompany the character dances, are sometimesjilaycd two at a time, one lieiiig held under the arm and the other in the left hand. THE CENSUS. 175 The Sibaia, or national theatre of the Japanese, occasionally employs the wholeof the musical resources of the city, in pieces which bear a distant resemblance toour great operas. According to a Japanese saying, in order to be happy one must visit Yeddo. This extraordinary city contained, in 1858, one million eight hundred thousandinhabitants, and notwithstan
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