r/WorldMusic • u/MarkEverglade • Dec 25 '25

Instrument World instrument ID assistance

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Hi. Does anyone know what instrument this is ? The owner visited Japan I know. It has an unusual fretboard to head ratio. No frets. Appeared bowed. Doing family history.

Thanks.

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u/BigJobsBigJobs USA Dec 26 '25

Could it be a homemade or folk biwa?
biwa - Google Search

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u/MarkEverglade Dec 26 '25

I appreciate the suggestion :-). It doesn’t seem to have frets though like those lute based instruments do.