Pipa
Videos
The pipa is a traditional Chinese musical instrument belonging to the plucked category of instruments. Sometimes called the "Chinese lute", the instrument has a pear-shaped wooden body with a varying
A pipa from the late Ming dynasty
Relief sculpture from Gandhara showing a lute being played by a musician (right), 1st–2nd century AD
Musicians in a scene from paradise, Yulin Cave 25, Tang dynasty
Lute detail from a Tang dynasty painting on silk, 897 A.D.
Biwa
Videos
The biwa is a Japanese short-necked wooden lute traditionally used in narrative storytelling. The biwa is a plucked string instrument that first gained popularity in China before spreading throughout
Pipa
…instruments and has been played for almost two thousand years in China. Several related instruments are derived from the pipa, including the Japanese biwa and Korean bipa in East Asia, and the Vietnamese đàn tỳ bà in Southeast Asia. The Korean instrument is the only one of the three that is no longer…
A selection of biwa in a Japanese museum
Benzaiten (Goddess of Music and Good Fortune) playing a biwa, 1832 woodblock print (surimono)
Gakubiwa
Plectra for the chikuzen-biwa (left) and satsuma-biwa