also: そう
koto; Japanese zither
A traditional Japanese stringed instrument with 13 strings and movable bridges, played with picks on the fingers.
She is learning to play the koto.
I heard the sound of the koto at New Year's.
Only with reading こと
Archaic general term for stringed instruments; now only encountered in historical contexts or old texts.
In old documents, 琴 can refer to stringed instruments in general.
zheng; guzheng; Chinese zither
Only when written 箏 / 筝
A Chinese plucked zither with movable bridges, ancestor of the Japanese koto; usually read そう when referring to the Chinese instrument.
The Chinese zheng has more strings than the Japanese koto.
She plays the koto every day.
The tone of the koto echoed through the quiet room.
koto bridge
Specifically refers to the Japanese koto with movable bridges; less common than 琴 in general use.
Reading そう is used for the Chinese zheng; rare in modern Japanese.
Variant of 箏; also used for the Japanese koto.
Variant of 箏 with reading そう for the Chinese zheng.