Wonderful to see the process -- thank you for sharing it! I hope my old koto was among those being restrung and is now singing happily with the others.
Very interesting! Gomi-san is quite a master at efficiently changing the strings ... and treating both the instrument and old strings with respect. I have changed strings before on a classical harp, and it is a long, tedious, difficult process, and not at all fun!
The wood is Paulownia and the string are actually tetron, which is a polymer very similar to nylon. Historically though, strings were made of silk, but those are a lot easier to break and more expensive to replace, hence the change in material. Thank you for your question, and the kecapi sounds beautiful too!
My name is Mitsuki Dazai, I'm the artistic director of Oregon Koto-Kai. Mr. Gomi is very busy, running his business by himself from making/preparing kotos/shamisens, restringing the kotos and often works as a stage manager at numerous concerts in Japan. He normally comes just to Oregon, works in very limited time and straight home in Tokyo. Hope you can find someone who could help...
@@mitsukidazai6830 Mitsuki sama, thank you so much for the quick response. I understand Mr. Gomi is quite busy. I will find someone who could help to come over Chicago. Good luck on your Koto activity! I am very impressed your group plays beautiful tunes.
Technically you could string a koto the same way to be played both left and right handed, the only difference would be the placement of the floating bridges since all strings are the the same gauge and tension (except in some cases the lowest string on certain concert kotos). Traditional techniques might be more difficult to learn mirrored, but can be done if you're motivated. Good luck!
@@floperpoper2071 Sorry for the late reply. Gomi-san sells both kotos and koto parts from his online shop, and we can attest to the high quality. okoto-gomi.com/ There are also distributors in the US, such as Sounds of Asia, that you can look into. Glad you enjoyed the video.
Great video. Thank you for sharing how the restringing is done.
Wonderful to see the process -- thank you for sharing it! I hope my old koto was among those being restrung and is now singing happily with the others.
Very interesting! Gomi-san is quite a master at efficiently changing the strings ... and treating both the instrument and old strings with respect. I have changed strings before on a classical harp, and it is a long, tedious, difficult process, and not at all fun!
I'm obsessed with the beginning and how in sync you guys were!
Thank you for sharing this with me..
Beautiful
Great craftsmanship! I have two koto's, a full size and a half size, which fits in the car so I can take it anywhere. I love the sound of them!
Awesome
Beautiful instrument. It looks similar to something called kecapi here.
What are the wood and string made of?
The wood is Paulownia and the strings are nylon.
The wood is Paulownia and the string are actually tetron, which is a polymer very similar to nylon. Historically though, strings were made of silk, but those are a lot easier to break and more expensive to replace, hence the change in material. Thank you for your question, and the kecapi sounds beautiful too!
How often needs the strings to be changed?
We restring all our kotos every 2-3 years to keep them in performance shape. Thanks for your question.
Is Mr. Gomi available in US? I am looking for Koto Shokunin who could care in Chicago.
My name is Mitsuki Dazai, I'm the artistic director of Oregon Koto-Kai. Mr. Gomi is very busy, running his business by himself from making/preparing kotos/shamisens, restringing the kotos and often works as a stage manager at numerous concerts in Japan. He normally comes just to Oregon, works in very limited time and straight home in Tokyo. Hope you can find someone who could help...
@@mitsukidazai6830 Mitsuki sama, thank you so much for the quick response. I understand Mr. Gomi is quite busy. I will find someone who could help to come over Chicago. Good luck on your Koto activity! I am very impressed your group plays beautiful tunes.
I am left-handed. Can you think of any reason I could not restring a koto for my personal use? Thank you for this video.
Technically you could string a koto the same way to be played both left and right handed, the only difference would be the placement of the floating bridges since all strings are the the same gauge and tension (except in some cases the lowest string on certain concert kotos). Traditional techniques might be more difficult to learn mirrored, but can be done if you're motivated. Good luck!
I would like to ask, where can you buy the strings for this instrument?
And also where to buy a koto as well
@@floperpoper2071 Sorry for the late reply. Gomi-san sells both kotos and koto parts from his online shop, and we can attest to the high quality. okoto-gomi.com/
There are also distributors in the US, such as Sounds of Asia, that you can look into. Glad you enjoyed the video.
👏👏👏👍