Koto

Koto may refer to:

Languages

See also

Koto (kana)

ヿ, read as koto, is a typographic ligature in the Japanese language, consisting of a combination of the katakana graphs of コ ([ko]) and ト ([to]), and thus represents their combined sound, コト ([koto]). It is drawn with one stroke. It is uncommon and used only in vertical writing.

In Unicode

See also

Koto (traditional clothing)

The koto or kotomisse is a traditional dress from the Afro-Surinamese women or Creoles in Suriname. The koto was developed during the slavery period in Suriname; its special purpose was to protect the Afro-Surinamese woman against their masters’ sexual interest.

Different kotos exist for various occasions like weddings or funerals. The development of the koto as regular dress is not complete but it is still used in special occasions like the koto-dansi.

With the koto, women wear a head or body covering called an angisa or anisa. The folding of the angisa sends a social message, for example “Let them talk.”

Gallery

1904-1933

1904-1933

Koto, 1885

Koto, 1885

Doll in koto

Doll in koto

Doll in koto

Doll in koto

References

External links

Koto (film)

Koto (古都) is a 1980 film directed by Kon Ichikawa starring Momoe Yamaguchi and Tomokazu Miura in an adaptation of Yasunari Kawabata's novel The Old Capital.

It is a remake of the 1963 film Twin Sisters of Kyoto.

Cast

Reception

Donald Richie in The Japanese Movie says that "Ichikawa dramatizes alienation in his remake of Kawabata's Koto, where twin sisters long-separated meet again and must face a dramatized estrangement."

References

External links

Koto (instrument)

The koto (Japanese: 箏) is a traditional Japanese stringed musical instrument originated from the Chinese zheng, and similar to the Mongolian yatga, the Korean gayageum, and the Vietnamese đàn tranh. The koto is the national instrument of Japan. Koto are about 180 centimetres (71 in) length, and made from kiri wood (Paulownia tomentosa). They have 13 strings that are strung over 13 movable bridges along the width of the instrument, and there is also a 17-string koto variant. Players can adjust the string pitches by moving the white bridges before playing. To play the instrument, the strings are plucked using three finger picks, otherwise known as plectra (on thumb, index finger, and middle finger), to pluck the strings.

Name

The character for koto is 箏, although 琴 is often used. However, 琴 usually refers to another instrument, the kin. 箏, in certain contexts, is also read as sō. However, many times the character 箏 is used in titles, while 琴 is used in telling the number of kotos used.

Koto (band)

Koto is an Italian synthpop group that originally consisted of Anfrando Maiola and Stefano Cundari, later with the Dutch composer Michiel van der Kuy.

History

In 1982, Italian musician Anfrando Maiola (b. 1954 in Parma, Italy) teamed up with Stefano Cundari and Alessandro Zanni and released their first single "Chinese Revenge" on Cellophane Record (Studio Veronica's label). The following year, Cundari and Zanni formed Memory Records and re-released "Chinese Revenge". The single proved to be very popular in Italy, selling over 10,000 copies. It also proved to be a minor hit in Germany and the Netherlands.

After the success of "Chinese Revenge", they began writing songs for other bands, including Baby's Gang ("Happy Song", "Challenger"), and helped fellow Italian band "Hipnosis" cover Vangelis' song "Pulstar". It was released in 1983, going Top 10 in Germany and Top 20 in Switzerland. The same year, Maiola and Cundari released another single "Japanese War Game", under the Koto name, which became another hit.