Kokyu

The kokyu is a smaller Japanese spike fiddle made similarly to the shamisen, with a bloated-square-shaped resonator that is covered on top and back with animal skin. This example is a four-stringed instrument and is played with a long bow. It was built with a two-piece neck, having four friction, hexagonal-shaped pegs made of wood, and a long spike at the bottom of the body. There are four silk strings attached to a tailpiece made of silk rope, and a bamboo bridge and nut.