It is a plucked string instrument that produces sounds by flicking strings with fingers without using a bow.

In a broad sense, stringed instruments of the lute family such as genkan (ruanxian) (four or five-stringed Chinese lute) and gekkin (moon harp) are sometimes included in the biwa group.

It was around the Former Han (dynasty of China) when these instruments were introduced to China and at first they were called 'huqin' (any Chinese string instrument played with a bow) which meant a 'Western harp' (stringed instruments) (These instruments are totally different from the ones called huquin from the age of the Sung dynasty to today).

It has easygoing yet rich tones, and there are big differences from many types of biwa in later ages, namely it is played with other instruments, it has different tuning system for each tune, it has no mechanism for a string instrument, it has no playing system to press strings with the left-hand fingers between frets to control the tension to make different tunes, or it is played using even the pinky finger.

Bachi (plectrum) is used to play shamisen (a three-stringed Japanese banjo) or biwa (Japanese lute) (plucked string instruments).

These are used to beat the strings when playing stringed instruments, hammering on its strings such as yokin (Mideastern typical folk instrument, stringed instruments of zither family), dulcimers, and santurs.

However, depending on the region, stringed instruments etc are also incorporated.

Shamisen is a Japanese stringed musical instrument with a neck.

It is a plucked string instrument.

Stringed instruments of lute family, having an oval body covered with skin and attached to long cylindrical neck, were already drawn in wall paintings of ancient Egypt.

There is a theory that the rabab developed into the sitar of the Middle East and Iran (Persia) ('Haegeum theory of the origin of bowed string instruments' by Kazuo HARA, a kokyu player).

Thus shamisen has led and supported various Japanese music of recent times, adding further improvements at the same time, and has become the leading stringed instrument of Japan.

Kokyu is a Japanese stringed instrument.

Kucho is an Okinawan stringed instrument.

In a broad sense, Kokyu is a generic name covering all the stringed instruments.

In particular, Kokyu is sometimes indicate all the Asian stringed instruments.

A stringed instrument in Okinawa "Kucho" is written as the same Chinese characters for different pronunciation.

In a broad sense, the term 'kokyu' is sometimes used for collectively calling stringed instruments.

Generally, it is sometimes used for indicating all the stringed instruments in Asia, but the definition is not clear.

Therefore, even Chinese stringed instruments erhu (two-stringed Chinese instrument played with a bow) and gaohu (Chinese bowed string instrument developed from the erhu) are sometimes commonly called Kokyu.