The koto (箏 or 琴) is a traditional Japanese stringed musical instrument derived from Chinese zithers. Koto are about 180 cm long and have 13 strings that are strung over 13 movable bridges along the length of the instrument. Players can adjust the string pitches by moving these bridges before playing, and use three finger picks (on thumb, forefinger, and middle finger) to pluck the strings.
The character for koto is also read as sō in certain contexts. Though often called by a number of other names, these terms almost always refer to similar, but different instruments, such as the Chinese guzheng (箏) or qin (琴, called kin in Japanese).