Glass gives Japanese musical instruments a new shine

Dunya News

Ancient Japanese musical instruments were given a new shine after one group decided to make theirs out of glass, instead of traditional wood. Unveiling a five instrument ensemble in a Tokyo hotel on Wednesday, the Hari Gonin Bayashi, established to promote the use of glass in traditional Japanese instruments, played several traditional ditties to a mixed audience of media and the general public. Drums and flutes play a major part in traditional Japanese music, with the 'tsuzumi', or an hour-glass shaped drum often being the lead instrument. Usually made out of leather and a hard wood such as cherry tree wood, the tsuzumi is famed for its high pitched beats and is the only Japanese drum that is hit with one's bare hands. The instruments were made by Tokyo-based Hario, a glass maker known here for its popular glass coffee pot production. It took 13 of its glass artisans over 19 months and ten million yen ($109,000 US dollars) to create the five instruments on display on Wednesday.