Have you ever heard of the koto?
This beautifully shaped stringed instrument is a member of the East Asian zither family. The koto is said to have derived from the kulbit, a Filipino bamboo cylindrical instrument, but its shape as we know it today was developed in China. The koto came to Japan in the eighth century by way of the Korean Peninsula. The instrument was originally used for court music. Thereafter, it came to be played by Buddhist monks, and eventually, reached the general populous.