Are there special challenges that make the koto different from other musical instruments?
Size is always an issue plus the compound curvature of the soundboard. My approach to the koto is one of a western luthier where my kotos are assembled much as a guitar is assembled, with top, back and sides. My Japanese counterpart begins with a very large block of Palonia wood that is shaped by means of a subtractive process as opposed to my additive approach. The soundboards on my instruments are formed from thin strips of Sitka spruce that are carefully pieced together to create the curved top that arches end to end and side to side, compound curve. The rest of the instrument, to my mind, is much less labor intensive than the traditional hand carving of the sound chamber.
