Etsuko Chida, from Sapporo, Japan, started the study of the koto at the age of 5. She studied under three of the greatest koto players of the Yamada school, Kaga Toyomasa, Yokota Toyochika, and Sanagi Hokatoyo. Etsuko Chida has performed in concerts in Japan as well as in many countries in Europe. She lives in Paris. The koto is a long zither with moveable bridges. At first played in Court music, the koto was later adopted by the young ladies of the rising bougeoisie, while it was still used by the aristocracy.The poems sung by Etusko Chida range from the 10th century to the Meiji era (1868-1912). www.etsukochida.com User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.