The current sokyoku is broadly divided into the Yamada style and the Ikuta style.

【birth】

Kengyō Yamada emulated the heyday of Edo's song joruri at that time, and started a kind of sokyoku as a kind of song, using the tune-based joruri such as Kato-bushi, Ichichubushi, and Tomimoto-bushi as a model. (Cultural Year 1804-1817) As he changed the gloomy Jiuta to one that fits the spirit of the Edo period, he immediately made a firm and unwavering force in the Kanto area.

After that, the power of the Yamada style became popular, and the number of subordinates increased and a sect was formed. Among them, Yamato, Yamaki, and Yamasei were the most powerful. Among them, Yamaki was appointed to Kanto Soroku in 1842.

【Difference】

The difference in appearance between the two appears in the shape of the nail.
Square claws are used in the Ikuta style, and round claws are used in the Yamada style. There is also a big difference in the playing style.

The size of the koto is 6 shaku and 3 shaku for Honma in the Ikuta style, but it is reduced to 6 shaku for the Yamada style. In addition, in the Yamada style, the flat tone of the Ikuta style is changed to the Kumoi tone, and the koto strings are strongly stretched to raise the tone, and it is devised to emit a sharp sound.

[Differences in playing style]

In principle, the koto has two or more sides, and the shamisen has one. This is because in the Yamada style, the main part is the koto and the shamisen is the accompaniment, so the tune of the shamisen is the same as the tune of the koto.

The Yamada style is centered on vocal music, and the use of round claws can be said to be an improvement because the use of round claws makes it possible to sit in front of the koto and emphasize singing songs.