Aspects of this topic are discussed in the following places at Britannica.
...school of koto music from the courtly tradition to the present time involves changes in the structure of the instruments as well as changes in playing method and notation. The ancient court koto (gaku-so) is similar to the modern koto and is played with picks (tsume) on the thumb and first two fingers of the right hand or with bare fingers, although, unlike the Ikuta and Yamada...
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