Sōkyoku

Japanese music for the koto, the thirteen-string zither derived from the gagaku sō, encompassing both solo repertory and the sankyoku chamber combination of koto, shamisen and shakuhachi. Sōkyoku took shape in the Edo period, when the blind musician *Yatsuhashi Kengyō* established its foundational repertory and tunings; it divides historically into the Ikuta school of the Kansai region and the Yamada school of Edo, the latter emphasizing sung narrative. Pieces alternate sung sections with extended instrumental interludes, using movable bridges, pitch bends, scrapes and left-hand pressure to shade intonation. In the twentieth century *Michio Miyagi* expanded the repertory and the instrument itself, composing concert works and a seventeen-string bass koto.