Nokan

Scope note

Japanese transverse flutes of the No theater, made from three to six short lengths of bamboo joined together. They resemble the "ryuteki" in that they have seven fingerholes, a balancing weight in the upper end, a red-lacquered bore, and a wrapping of bark or twine, but are distinct from them in having a short tube inserted in the bore between the mouth hole and the nearest fingerhole, a metal ornament embedded in the upper end, and the inner red lacquer showing on the outside of the mouth hole and fingerholes.