biwa (4 or 5-stringed Oriental lute)
Archaic name for the biwa. In modern Japanese, the instrument is almost always called 琵琶 (びわ). This longer form may appear in historical or literary contexts.
See also: 琵琶
The notation '琵琶の琴' can be found in old documents.
The term is composed of 琵琶 (biwa, the instrument) and 琴 (koto, a general term for stringed instruments). The exact historical derivation is uncertain; it may have been used to distinguish the biwa from other stringed instruments in older texts.