Koto *board zither of Japan, also known as kin, derived from the ch'in of China and long considered the national instr. of Japan. Originally the term denoted any horizontally plucked instr.; later it was used specifically for the long zither with slightly convex board and flat bottom, with 13 silk strings passing over as many individual movable bridges. As on the ch'in, a series of ivory or mother-of-pearl discs is set in the soundboard under the (outside) melody string to indicate the stopping…