Nov 7, 2024
1890s
Ca.1890 large albumen print. Attributed to SHINICHI SUZUKI.
"……the odd two string instrument in the back of this photo appears to be an AZUMA NIGENKIN.
'The Nigenkin is a fairly recent instrument adapted from the Yakumo-goto, a two-string zither used exclusively in Shinto shrines. In the early Meiji Period (1868-1912), Tosha Rosen, a Yakumo-goto player, started to use the instrument to perform the secular popular music of the time (hauta and zokkyoku), and as a result was asked to sever his association with the Shinto Shrine and was forbidden to play the Yakumo-goto. He therefore created the Azuma Nigenkin, with only subtle differences to its predecessor, notably an open back and less ornamentation.'….."