Sankyoku

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Sankyoku (三曲, often romanized sankyōku) is a type of three-member Japanese traditional musical ensemble. Formerly, it consisted of koto, shamisen, and kokyu but beginning in the 20th century it became much more common for the kokyu to be replaced by a shakuhachi. Voices are often added, the voice parts generally contributed by the musicians themselves (except the shakuhachi player).