Ichigenkin

The ichigenkin (Japanese: 一絃琴; literally "one-string zither" or "Monochord", also sumagoto / 須磨琴) is a Japanese single-stringed plucked zither. Its body is a slender, slightly curved plank carved from kiri (Paulownia tomentosa) wood. Its raw silk string is plucked with a tubular plectrum placed on the index finger of the right hand while a tubular ivory device similar to a guitar slide placed over the middle finger of the left hand slightly depresses the string—though not so hard that it presses against the hardwood soundboard—to vary the pitch. Both the plectrum and slide are referred to as rokan. As with the Chinese guqin, from which it was likely originally adapted, the ichigenkin has no frets, so sliding tones are an important part of the technique of the instrument.