Although the sankyoku gassô has existed since the mid-seventeenth century, the combination of three kinds of instruments has changed over time. According to an early manual, Sitiku syosin syû ‘Beginners
’ Pieces for String and Bamboo Instruments’ (printed in 1664), a sankyoku gassô comprising koto, syamisen, and
hitoyogiri
‘one-node
’ (a shorter precursor of the syakuhati) was popular in the mid-seventeenth century. By the first half of the eighteenth century, however, sankyoku gassôsankyoku gassô...
