Japanese stringed instruments: Siamisen (shamisen); kokiu (fiddle) with long bow and biwa (lute). The Siamesin is the commonest Japanese stringed instrument and is played by the singing girls; geisha. The Kokiu is a kind of fiddle; in its construction very like the Siamesin; only that it is played with a bow (kiu) instead of a plectrum or striker (batsi). The Biwa is a four-string lute-like instrument in the shape of a divided pear; becoming narrower upwards. It is played with a bill-formed batsi; 6 1/2 inches long; made of horn; wood; tortoiseshell; or ivory. Chromolithograph from an illustration by William Gibb from A.J. Hipkins' 鈥楳usical Instruments; Historic; Rare and Unique;' Adam and Charles Black; Edinburgh; 1888. Alfred James Hipkins (1826-1903) was an English musicologist who specialized in the history of the pianoforte and other instruments. William Gibb was a master illustrator and chromolithographer and illustrated 鈥楾he Royal House of Stuart' (1890); 鈥楴aval and Military Trophies' (1896); and others.