Two-headed Drum

Japanese O-tsuzumi

Japan
Japan

20th century

Height: 11.5 inches

Japanese decorated hand drum (o-tsuzumi). This hourglass-shaped (waisted) body is decorated with stalks of ripe millet and plaques in gilt hiramakie on a black lacquer back ground. The drum heads are secured by adjustable red silk cords. The two most commonly used tsuzumi are the ko-tsuzumi and the ō-tsuzumi, found in the music of Noh and Kabuki theaters. This smaller ko-tsuzumi is held on the player's right shoulder and hit with fingers of the right hand. The drummer can produce four different pitches by changing the rope tensions with gentle left-hand squeezes. Ancient Japanese court orchestra music had three types of tsuzumi drums, of which only the san no tsuzumi form survives in komagaku style (courtly music of Japanese, Korean, and other non-Chinese, non-Indian ancestry). The tsuzumi is related to the Korean changgo, a larger hourglass-shaped, two-headed drum. (Also shown in this collection)

Owner: Provenance: Okawachi Trust Fund, Fairfield, CA
Catalog#: HWMC

© Hartenberger World Music Collection