Koto tuner – Hirajoshi (D)
D-G-A-A#-D-D#-G-A-A#-D-D#-G-A · Standard
Also known as 平調子
This free online tuner listens through your microphone and shows how close each string of your Koto is to Hirajoshi (D) tuning (D-G-A-A#-D-D#-G-A-A#-D-D#-G-A). Play a string, watch the needle, and turn the peg until the meter glows green. If you prefer tuning by ear, tap any string card to hear its reference tone.
About Hirajoshi (D) tuning
Hirajoshi (D) is the reference tuning for the Koto – the pitch the instrument normally ships at, and the starting point every other tuning on this page is measured from.
Played open, the strings sound D-G-A-A#-D-D#-G-A-A#-D-D#-G-A – from G3 at the bottom to A5 at the top, a span of 2 octaves and 2 semitones.
Hirajoshi (D) is re-entrant: the strings do not rise steadily in pitch, so the string nearest your thumb is not the lowest note available. That is deliberate, and it is a large part of why the instrument sounds the way it does.
Hirajoshi is the standard tuning of the 13-string koto and the source of the "Japanese" pentatonic scale guitarists know by the same name. Its notes – here D, E♭, G, A, B♭ – contain two semitone steps, which is what gives it its unmistakable colour compared with the Chinese major pentatonic.
String 1 is tuned to the same pitch as string 5, so the list does not rise in a straight line. Like the guzheng, the koto is tuned by sliding the movable bridges (ji), and the whole tuning is commonly transposed to suit a piece or a singer; D is simply the usual reference.
History
Koto
The koto came to Japan from China in the Nara period (7th–8th centuries) as a member of the gagaku court orchestra; it is a descendant of the Chinese zheng. For centuries it belonged to the court and to Buddhist temples.
Its modern tradition begins with Yatsuhashi Kengyō (1614–1685), a blind musician in Kyoto who created the hirajōshi tuning and the solo repertoire known as sōkyoku; the classic “Rokudan no Shirabe” is attributed to him. In the 20th century Michio Miyagi (1894–1956) wrote “Haru no Umi” (The Sea in Spring, 1929) and invented the 17-string bass koto.
Where the Hirajoshi (D) tuning comes from
Hirajōshi is the standard koto tuning, created by Yatsuhashi Kengyō in the 17th century. It is based on a pentatonic scale with semitones, characteristic of Japanese music.
Other Koto tunings
How do I tune my Koto to Hirajoshi (D)?
Allow microphone access, pluck a string, and the tuner will detect it automatically. The needle shows whether the string is flat or sharp – adjust until the reading is within ±5 cents (D-G-A-A#-D-D#-G-A-A#-D-D#-G-A).
Which notes are used in Hirajoshi (D) tuning?
Hirajoshi (D) tuning for Koto uses the notes D-G-A-A#-D-D#-G-A-A#-D-D#-G-A, listed from the lowest string to the highest.
Can I tune without a microphone?
Yes. Every string card plays a reference tone – tap it and match your string to the sound by ear.