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Images from The Beede
Gallery
Gyo ban, Japan, Edo period (1600-1867)
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NMM 5788. Gyo ban, Japan, Edo period (1600-1867). Fish-shaped percussion slab carved from a single piece of softwood. Five feet long; weighs about 75 pounds. Gyo ban, one of several instruments that served as signals to regulate the daily lives of monks, were traditionally hung in the bathing rooms of Zen temple monasteries. This example was once lacquered red, black, and gold. The up-turned lips hold a ball, symbolic of human desire, which is figuratively expelled each time the gyo ban is played. Struck with a wooden mallet. Purchase funds gift of Toshiba America Information Systems, Inc., Mitchell, South Dakota, 1994.
Side and Bottom Views
Gyo in Japanese means "fish," while ban translates "slab." The alternate name, Gyo han ( "fish slab"), is also used.
The Fish Head
Striking Point and Scales
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Go to Annotated Checklist of Musical Instruments From East Asia on Display at the NMM
National Music Museum
The University of South Dakota
414 East Clark Street
Vermillion, SD 57069
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