kokyu

kokyu(kucho)
One of the stringed instruments played with a bow. It is called "Kucho" in the Okinawan dialect. Although it was supposedly introduced to Okinawa from China along with the sanshin, its material, shape and sound are peculiar to Okinawa. It is 70 cm tall, with a neck made of ebony and body made of snakeskin wrapped on hollowed coconut or Stylax japonica trees. It has three strings and is played upright, with the horsetail-strung bow rubbing against the strings. Since Shinei Matayoshi, a Kokyu and Sanshin musician and Sanshin producer, made and spread the four-stringed Kokyu in order to expand the range, many are used today.