Mokugyo

Art Historical Context

Nestled in the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Crosby Brown Collection of Musical Instruments this 19th-centuryMokugyo* is a captivating example of Japanese craftsmanship. Carved from wood and measuring 14 inches high by 12 inches wide, exemplifies the slit drum—a type of idiophone struck to produce resonant tones. Its fish-like form, evoking "mokugyo" or "wooden fish," both aesthetic simplicity and functional design, typical of Edo-period (1603–1868) artifacts transitioning into the Meiji era. In Japanese Buddhist rituals, the *mokugyo* plays a vital rhythmic role, marking time during sutra cha...