jiuta

Jiuta is a genre of Japanese chamber music that typically features a sankyoku ensemble, meaning "music for three." This ensemble traditionally consists of one or two kotos (a plucked zither), a shamisen (a three-stringed lute, referred to as sangen in jiuta), and a shakuhachi (an end-blown flute). Before the shakuhachi became standard, a three-stringed bowed lute called a kokyū was used. The koto often plays the main melody, with the shamisen and shakuhachi providing variations and accompaniment, sometimes described as the "bone," "flesh," and "skin" of the music, respectively.1