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Koto player, Guimet museum auditorium, paris, 2007. The koto (ç®) is a Japanese plucked half-tube zither instrument, and the national instrument of Japan. Koto are roughly 180 centimetres (71 in) in length, and made from Paulownia wood (Paulownia tomentosa, known as kiri). The most common type uses 13 strings strung over movable bridges used for tuning, different pieces possibly requiring different tuning.