During Japan's early history, musical instruments were seen as sources of ritual power, allowing performers to call up divine forces for inspiration and aid. As Japan developed a court and then an urbanized society, instrumental performance remained at the heart of aesthetic experience, playing diverse roles expanded to cover nearly every part of the society. Illustrated with images drawn from picture scrolls as well as photographs of instruments as they are used in performance, Japanese Musical Instruments is a complete survey of traditional instruments. The book includes literary references to musical instruments from sources that span the tenth to the twentieth centuries, and it describes in detail the musical instruments' dual roles as 'instruments of culture' and as devices for producing sound. Easy to use and concise, the book is a readable overview of the nation's musical heritage.