Freq. Frequency Top 100,000 Related words 琴こと 琴 is the instrument itself, while 箏曲 refers specifically to the music played on it.
邦ほう 楽がく 邦楽 is a broader term for traditional Japanese music in general, whereas 箏曲 is limited to koto music.
Written forms 箏そう 曲きょく Usage 73%
Standard kanji form; the character 箏 specifically refers to the koto instrument.
筝そう 曲きょく Usage 27%
Variant kanji form using 筝 , which is also used for the koto; less common than 箏曲 .
Etymology Compound of 箏 (そう , 'koto') and 曲 (きょく , 'music piece'). The exact historical derivation is straightforward; the term has been used since the Edo period to denote koto compositions.
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