Visible wood grain is only one part of a Tokyo koto body’s description. The official reference distinguishes the curves of its outer surface from work on the inside.
Technique and structure
The outer face is worked into a gentle curved surface with mukuri, curvature along its length, and yamagata, curvature across its width. The underside is worked with an adze and finished with a plane, followed by chisel-cut ayasugi patterning. These are separately described surfaces and operations. A view of the top alone cannot give a complete account of the body shaping or the interior carving.
Ask about the actual body
Tokyo’s overview describes the maker adjusting the body’s thickness while working the interior. It supplies no single thickness that should be applied to every koto.
For international readers
Discuss the actual instrument with its maker or a specialist repairer. No acoustic test, tuning result or home-carving specification is claimed here.
Global shipping and buying
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日本語
東京琴：縦横の反りと甲裏の加工
東京琴の胴造りでは、甲表の縦方向の反りであるムクリと横方向の山形を削り、ゆるい曲面にします。甲裏は釿で削って鉋で仕上げ、のみで綾杉文様を彫る別の加工です。表面の木目だけで内部の加工や厚みを判断せず、楽器ごとの仕様を確認します。