高麗笛

Japanese

高麗笛 (komabue): a komabue, a transverse flute used in traditional Japanese court music.

Kanji in this term
高	麗	笛
こう > こ Grade: 2	ま Grade: S	ふえ > ぶえ Grade: 3
irregular

Alternative forms

• 狛笛

Etymology

Compound of 高麗 (koma, “Korean, from the Korean peninsula”) +‎ 笛 (fue, “flute”). The fue changes to bue as an instance of rendaku (連濁).

Pronunciation

• (Tokyo) こまぶえ [kòmábúꜜè] (Nakadaka – [3])
• IPA^(key): [ko̞ma̠bɯ̟e̞]

Noun

高(こ)麗(ま)笛(ぶえ) • (komabue) 

1. a komabue: a transverse flute used in traditional Japanese court music

   Traditionally made of bamboo, about 36 cm in length. Has six finger holes of roughly 1 cm in diameter. Originally brought to Japan by the Baekje elite circa 660 CE when the Baekje kingdom in the south of the Korean Peninsula fell to the combined forces of the Silla kingdom and the Tang Dynasty.