koto

American  

[koh-toh, kaw-taw] / ˈkoʊ toʊ, ˈkɔˈtɔ /

noun

kotos, plural koto plural

1. a Japanese musical instrument having numerous strings, usually seven or thirteen, that are stretched over a convex wooden sounding board and are plucked with three plectra, worn on the thumb, index finger, and middle finger of one hand.

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koto British  

/ ˈkəʊtəʊ /

noun

1. a Japanese stringed instrument, consisting of a rectangular wooden body over which are stretched silk strings, which are plucked with plectrums or a nail-like device

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• koto
  plural
• kotos
  plural

Etymology

Origin of koto

Borrowed into English from Japanese around 1785–95

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

koto kotos

In these extraordinary intricate and intimate duets, a boisterous trombone is shown to possess a seemingly impossibly delicate soul; a formal koto tradition is shown to live in the moment.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 19, 2020

This is a series of, of all things, trombone and koto duets.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 19, 2020

“We have Japanese koto, with Indian tabla, with flamenco guitar, with African percussion,” he told The Post.

From Washington Post ● Jun. 1, 2020

The show has an exquisite soundtrack of traditional Japanese court music, played on koto and bamboo flute.

From The New Yorker ● Mar. 21, 2016

They were obtained by playing a stringed instrument called koto, by standing at a cross-street and watching the passers, by manipulating stones, and by counting footsteps.

From A History of the Japanese People From the Earliest Times to the End of the Meiji Era by Brinkley, F. (Frank)

Therefore kotos does not bide its time for taking vengeance, but in course of time spends itself.

From Summa Theologica, Part I-II (Pars Prima Secundae) From the Complete American Edition by Thomas, Aquinas, Saint