hyōshigi
Ja-Latn The hyōshigi (拍子木) is a simple Japanese musical instrument, a type of clapper, consisting of two pieces of hardwood or bamboo often connected by a thin ornamental rope. The clappers are played together or on the floor to create a cracking sound. Sometimes they are struck slowly at first, then faster and faster.
hyōshigi
Miya at Japanese Wikipedia · Miya · CC BY-SA 3.0
- Name
- Hyōshigi
- Field
- percussion instrument and traditional Japanese musical instrument.
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wikidata · Q3144475 · wikipedia · Hyōshigi
In this article
Key facts
Key facts
• Name — Hyōshigi • Classification — Concussion Idiophone • Names — Concussion Blocks, Kabuki Blocks, Kabuki Clappers
Theater
Theater
Hyōshigi are used in traditional Japanese theaters, such as kabuki and bunraku theater, to announce the beginning of a performance. The kyogen-kata usually plays the hyōshigi at the start of comedic plays. It can be used to attract the attention of the audience by conductors for theater and athletic and juggling performances. Hyōshigi are also used to stress confusion, and other dramatic moments, in the play.
Religion
Religion
It is also often used to signal the starting or the end of parts of festivals, especially in the directing of the mikoshi. Hyōshigi is combined with other traditional Japanese instruments in mikagura-uta, or cycle of songs, which is characteristic of the Tenrikyo religion.
Other uses
Other uses
The clapping instrument was also used in kamishibai to gather children so that the kamishibai man could sell candy and entertain them with his story. The wooden percussion instrument was also used by night-watchmen when patrolling the streets. Volunteer Fire Corps (Shōbōdan) patrols use hyōshigi during their night-patrols (yomawari) warning people about the danger of fire.
Text attribution
Licensing
Text attribution
Part of the biographical narrative on this page reuses licensed material. Its origin, revision and licence are recorded here.
The biographical narrative on this page is based on the Wikipedia article Hyōshigi, revision 1374929571 (EN edition), by its contributors. VALÉORINE has edited that text and built its own documentary record around it. The reused material is available under CC BY-SA 4.0, and this page's reuse of it is offered under the same licence. Everything else on this page — the chronology, the holdings, the evidence, the plates and the connections — is VALÉORINE's own record. Sources and licences.
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.Blades, James. Clappers. Grove Music Online. Oxford Music Online. Oxford University Press.
- 2.James Holland. Practical Percussion: A Guide to the Instruments and Their Sources. Scarecrow Press. 16 September 2005. 978-1-4616-7063-6.
- 3.Saltzman-Li, Katherine. Creating Kabuki Plays: Context for Kezairoku, Valuable Notes on Playwriting. Leiden: Brill. 47. 2010. 9789004121157.
- 4.B.T. Batsford. The Music and Musical Instruments of Japan. 210. 1893.
- 5.Karen Brazell. Traditional Japanese Theater: An Anthology of Plays. Columbia University Press. 309. 1998. 978-0-231-10873-7.
- 6.Kishibe, Shigeo. Japan. Grove Music Online. Oxford Music Online. Oxford University Press.
- 7.De las Casas, Dianne. Kamishibai Story Theater: The Art of Picture Telling. Teacher Ideas Press. 1. 2006. 9781591584049.
- 8.Gordenker, Alice. Yomawari. The Japan Times. 20 December 2011.
References
Citations
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The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 14 August 2026.
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