(1) Gagaku Performance
As seen in this photograph, from right to left, the three types of wind instruments are sho, hichiriki, and ryuteki; the two types of stringed instruments are biwa and so; and the three types of drums are kakko, taiko, and shoko.
(Photo : Copyright Shinji Aoki)

(2) Sho
This is an instrument used in gagaku court music. The upper part has 17 bamboo pipes of different lengths.
(Photo : Copyright Shinji Aoki)

(3) Hichiriki
This is an instrument used in gagaku court music. It is a single bamboo pipe about 18 cm long with 7 finger-holes on the front and 2 on the back. Thin strips of cherry bark are wrapped around it between the holes.
(Photo : Copyright Shinji Aoki)

(4) Gakuso
Zithers, formally called so, have, since the Edo period, been colloquially known as koto. The type of so shown here is used for gagaku performances and is known as a gakuso.
(Photo : Copyright Shinji Aoki)

(5) Gakubiwa
This 4-stringed lute, used for gagaku performances, is the largest type of biwa.
(Photo : Copyright Shinji Aoki)

(6) Noh Musical Accompanyists (Hayashi)
The instruments being played by this group of four accompanists are, from right to left, a flute (fue), a kotsuzumi drum, an otsuzumi (or okawa) drum, and a taiko drum.
(Photo courtesy of the National Noh Theater)