笙しょうの笛ふえ

しょ

う

の

ふ

え

Meanings

noun

shō (Japanese mouth organ)

A traditional Japanese free-reed wind instrument consisting of 17 bamboo pipes; used in gagaku court music.

Kanji

笙a reed instrument
笛flute, clarinet, pipe

Related words

笙しょう
Same instrument; 笙 alone is more common in technical contexts, while 笙の笛 is a fuller, more descriptive term.
篳ひち篥りき
Another gagaku wind instrument, a double-reed flute with a more piercing sound, often played alongside the shō.
龍りゅう笛てき
A transverse flute used in gagaku; together with shō and hichiriki, it forms the core wind section.

Built from

笙しょう+笛ふえ

Written forms

笙の笛
- しょうのふえ
  Standard kanji spelling; 笙 alone can also refer to the instrument, but 笙の笛 is a common explicit term.
- そうのふえ
そうのふえ

Etymology

笙 (shō) is the instrument name, derived from Chinese shēng; 笛 (fue) means 'flute' or 'pipe', added for clarity. The reading そうのふえ is an older or alternative pronunciation of 笙.