Interview with a Koto Technician

As many of you already know, in February we had all our kotos restrung by Yano-san (a koto technician who is an expert at restringing kotos). We were very lucky to have him fly all the way down from Japan. He started in Brisbane, flew down to Sydney, and finally ended his trip in Melbourne. In total, more than 40 kotos and 7 bass kotos were restrung!

While he was here, we took the chance to interview him and asked various questions regarding koto restringing and the koto itself. It was certainly very informative!

I’ve included a Japanese and English version. Hope you enjoy reading about it below:

新糸 :「新しい糸に張りかえる」事。お箏から糸を外して、新しい糸に変えます。

天地 : 新糸にかけた後の残りの竜尾に掛かっている糸をひっくり反して締め直す
こと。

つま切れ: 掛かっている糸を竜角から20センチほど切り送りして締め直すこと。

新糸と天地は大きな相違はありますか?

新糸の方が糸がフレッシュなので押した時の弾力と音色の余韻が長いです。

糸締めをする時、新糸にするか、又は天地、つま切れにするかはどの様に判断しますか?

糸の状態で判断します。 陽に当たったり、風に当たったりすると糸が劣化して硬くなり、場合によっては切れ易くなります。普段からお箏をゆたんに包んで、保管方法に注意すると長く持ちます。
糸は弾力がなくなると、余韻が無くなり音質が悪くなるので、やはり新糸の方が天地より音が良いのは確かです。

つま切れの場合、糸の伸びが少なくなるので、新糸や天地に比べると音の狂いは少ないです、でも、糸が一回伸びている状態で、さらに、送って締め直す為少々硬く感じられます。それが好きな人は転地しないでずっとつま切れにすれば良いと思います。

糸締めの基本は新糸と転地だけですが、中には糸が勿体ないという理由でつま切れにする人もいます。例えば、学校の様に予算があまり無い場合はつま切れにしますが、糸の寿命は短く、切れ易くなりますのであまりおすすめしていません。
あと古い糸を締めるのは締めにくく、すぐに切れてしまうのが一番怖いです。特に結び目(竜尾の所)で切れると糸を新しく変える以外はどうしようもなくなります。

どのくらいの頻度で締め直すのが理想的ですか?

日本の場合は1年に1回、プロフェッショナルの演奏家は3、4ヶ月に1回は締め直しています。
海外の場合は保存状態にもよりますが、弾かなくても糸は劣化するので3年が限界だと思います。

どれくらいの頻度で新糸に変えたらよいですか?

糸の状態にもよりますが、基本的に本番用のくり甲を新糸で締め直して、外した糸をお稽古用の箏に回すと無駄がないと思われます。

締め方の強さはどの様にして判断しますか?

弾く方の体力と楽器の硬さによって締め方を変えています。
力の無い人には弱めに締めています。柔らかい楽器に強く締めてもあまり良い音はしませんので、楽器の硬さも判断の基準になります。

新糸を購入した場合、ベストの保存方法を教えて下さい。

着物を入れる桐のタンスをお持ちでしたら、その中に入れておくのが一番良いですね。私の所は、お茶屋さんからお茶の乾燥や湿気を防ぐ保存箱を買って来て、その中で保管しています。
海外の場合は、湿気と乾燥の少ない,陽が当たらない暗い場所を選んで下さい。ビニールの袋に入れてさらにクローゼットに入れておくと良いですね。

糸締め直後の注意点ですが、 柱はしばらく立てたままの方が良いですか?

糸締めする人によって意見が違いますが,私は外した方が良いと思います。強いと感じたら半日か1日掛けて少し伸ばしてから外せば良いと思います。
押し手が多い糸は、柱が当たっている箇所が切れる事があります。
柱の溝に転調の印の鉛筆のあとが黒く残っていると、それがヤスリの様になって糸が切れる原因になるので柱の溝もたまにきれいにした方が良いです。

日頃のメンテナンス方法に付いて、何かアドバイスはありますか?

楽器は弾かないと鳴らなくなります。特にランクが上のお箏、例えばクリ甲は鳴らなくなってしまいますので、買ってすぐ最初のうちに弾き込んでおけば多少時間が開いても、又弾き込む事によってまた鳴る様になります。やはり、最初が肝心です。
普段から弾いた方がよいですが、糸が切れることを考えるとなかなか難しいので、バランスを考えて弾いて下さい。


Terms to know:

Arai Ito : Replacing old strings with brand new strings

Tenchi : “Reversing” the current strings and restringing – The strings are inverted
so that the Ryuukaku side (playing area) ends up on the Ryuubi side
(non-playing area with the excess strings) and vice versa.

Tsumagire: Approximately 20 cm of each string on the Ryuukaku (playing side) is
snipped off and discarded, then the newly snipped end is pulled across
and restrung. No new strings are used.

Q: Is there a big difference between Arai Ito and Tenchi?

A: With Arai Ito, the strings are more fresh. So the elasticity while doing presses is better and the resonance of the tonal quality is longer.

Q: When restringing, how do you decide between Arai Ito, Tenchi, or Tsumagire?

A: I decide based on the conditions of the current strings. Exposure to sunlight and wind will make the strings deteriorate, and depending on the circumstances it will make it easier for the strings to snap. Putting the koto in its case and being careful of how you store it will help the strings to last longer.
Overtime, the strings will lose elasticity which affects the resonance and quality of sound. So Arai Ito would give you a better sound than Tenchi.

As for Tsumagire, the strings are stretched less as they have already been stretched in the first place. So compared to Arai Ito and Tenchi, the pitch of the strings tend to be more stable (usually for Arai Ito and Tenchi, the strings are more pitchy at the start before they settle). However, because the strings are already stretched, pulling and restringing them will make the strings feel hard. For those that like this feeling, it’s possible not to do Tenchi and just do Tsumagire all the time.

The basis of koto restringing are Arai Ito and Tenchi, but there are some who think that it would be a waste to do so and opt for Tsumagire instead. An example would be schools with not a lot of budget. However, this reduces the life span of the strings and they will tend to snap more so it is not recommended.
Also, restringing old strings is hard, and their tendency to snap easily is something I am afraid of. Especially if they snap at Ryuubi area where the strings are tied. If this happens, the only thing to do would be to get new strings as the remaining length of string would not be enough.

Q: What is the ideal frequency of koto restringing?

A: In Japan, it’s usually once a year. For professional players, usually once every 3-4 months.
If you’re overseas, even if you hardly play, 3 years would probably be the limit. Of course this is also affected by how the koto/strings are stored.

Q: How frequent should Arai Ito be done?

A: It largely depends on the conditions of the strings. To avoid wastage, Arai Ito would be used for good performance kotos, and the old strings from that performance koto is then used for one’s practice koto.

Q: How do you decide on how strong to restring a koto?

A: It depends on the physical strength of the player and how hard the koto is.
For people with not much physical strength I usually make it more loose. The basis would still be the hardness of the instrument itself. If the wood of the koto is soft, restringing it tightly will not give produce a very good sound.

Q: Could you tell us what is the best way to keep newly bought strings?

A: If you have a chest drawer specially for kimono, storing your new strings there would be the best. In my case, I store the strings in a special box available from tea shops that keep out moisture and dryness. If you’re overseas, choose a dark place that does not get much sunlight and has low dryness and humidity. Putting the strings in a zip lock bag and storing them in the closet is a good idea.

Q: Right after restringing, is it better to leave the bridges on for a while?

A: This varies depending on who is doing the restringing, but in my opinion it is better to remove the bridges. If you feel that the strings are too tight, then leaving the bridges on for half a day or a full day before taking them off is a good idea.
On strings where a lot of presses are done, there are cases where they snap at the point where the strings meet the bridges.
It is a good idea to clean the groove of the bridges occasionally. The markings done with pencils on the strings during tencho (moving a bridge while playing) tend to leave some residue on the groove of the bridges. This will then file against the strings and can cause them to snap.

Q: Do you have advice for everyday koto maintenance?

A: If you don’t play an instrument, its sound will die. This is especially true for higher grade kotos. After buying a new high grade koto, it is good to play on it right away for a period of time in order to bring out its full potential. That way, even if you don’t play it for a while, when you start again its sound will come back rather quickly. So it is when you first buy the instrument thats the most important time.
Regularly playing on a high grade koto is good, but I understand the fear of having the strings snap. So finding the right balance is the key.

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