Chikuzen biwa
Alternate name(s)
- Short-neck lute
Date1890-1920 ca.
Place MadeJapan, Asia
Serial No.none
DescriptionShort-necked, pear-shaped lute with four strings. Five raised wooden frets. Two crescent-shaped soundholes above decorative strip of brocade that serves as a pickguard. Green, braided tassel tied to pegbox. Biwa music and its practice was used in the training of samurai beginning in the 16th century. The legacy of the biwa, which dates to the late 7th century, nearly disappeared following World War II, as a result of the demise of the samurai tradition in Japan.ProvenancePreviously displayed in a New York City café. By 1976, sold to William Gribbon, Greenfield, Massachusetts. Purchased from Gribbon, 1976.
Published ReferencesAndré P. Larson, The National Music Museum: A Pictorial Souvenir (Vermillion: National Music Museum, 1988), p. 30.
Credit LineBoard of Trustees, 1976.
Object number01433
On View
Not on view
1850 ca.
1950-1965 ca.