Question

Besides the shakuhachi's folk uses, since the 1200s, it has been played by Zen Buddhists as a spiritual practice (sui-zen; "breathing meditation").

And when some restrictions on who could play it were lifted sometime around the mid-1870s, it generally replaced the bowed kokyu as the third instrument that plays with the shamisen and koto in sankyoku ensembles.
Which instrument did the shakuhachi generally replace in the sankyoku ensembles in the mid-1870s?
A) Koto
B) Shamisen
C) Biwa
D) Kokyu

Answer 1

In the mid-1870s, the shakuhachi replaced the Kokyu as the third instrument in sankyoku ensembles, accompanying the shamisen and koto.

Step-by-step explanation:

The instrument that the shakuhachi generally replaced in the sankyoku ensembles in the mid-1870s is D) Kokyu. The shakuhachi, a traditional Japanese bamboo flute, had both folk uses and served as a means of spiritual practice within Zen Buddhism since the 1200s. It was during the mid-1870s that certain restrictions on who could play the shakuhachi were lifted, allowing it to become more widespread within musical ensembles.

Despite the popularity of koto and shamisen, traditional Japanese string instruments known for playing music that enhances the mood of a scene, the shakuhachi began to accompany these instruments in sankyoku music, a type of traditional Japanese chamber music, ultimately taking the place of the less commonly known Kokyu.