Accounts on each instrument have been kept to a minimum. Priority has been given to the use of names listed in Musical Instruments -- A Comprehensive Dictionary and The New Grove Dictionary of Musical Instruments in order to facilitate reference to these dictionaries. The contents, based on the systematics, or system for classification, of the instruments which is to be dealt with below, is devided into the following six chapters according to the form of the vibrating body.

1. Massophone        (massa, 'solid')
2. Cupophone        (cupa, 'hollow solid')
3. Clavophone        (clava, 'stick')
4. Tabulophone       (tabula, 'board')
5. Chordophone       (chorda, 'string')
6. Membranophone    (membrana, 'membrane')

1. Percussion
2. Friction
3. Plucking
4. Air current
5. Electronic oscillation

Legend
1.Registered number
    Each musical instrument is given a registered number on acquisition. The latest number as of the end of November 1994 is 2031. With regard to instruments that have apparently been mass-produced according to a fixed standard, only one of them has been shown in this catalogue, with the registered numbers of all identical instruments listed together. Sound tools for animals, sounding toys, and sound imitating tools have been shown in volume 2.

2.Systematic number
    Systematic numbers are composed of seven figures ; each figure corresponds to the following items :

1st figure : Form of the vibrating body
2nd figure : Material of the vibrating body  5(4)=5and4
3rd figure : Source of vibration
4th figure : Application of vibration  1(2)=1and2
5th figure : Conversion of vibration
6th figure : Form of converting part
7th figure : Material of converting part             (See "Concerning Systematics")

 

Example
	Napura Nupur (both names can be referred to in Marcuse and Grove)
	Trombita (can be referred to in both Marcuse and Grove)
	Ranasringa (can be referred to only in Marcuse)
	Zilli masa (can be referred to only in Grove)

4.Regional name
    Names of musical instruments among various ethnic groups in the world have, starting from an original form, undergone transitional changes in terms of period and region. Therefore it is no rare case to find out that one single instrument carries a multiplicity of names. In addition, there are innumerable cases of discrepancies between actual sound and romanized transcriptions that occur when the names of instruments of various ethnic groups are transcribed into roman letters. Under these circumstances it is almost impossible to cover all the regional names in this catalogue.
    Regional names listed in this catalogue are confined to those of the instruments that have been confirmed by reference to photographs or charts of the corresponding instruments in publications of national or public museums, archives and institutes of the regions to which the instrument belongs.

5.Region
    In principle, region is designated in English in the order of country, state (province, prefecture) and city. Abbreviated forms are used to denote the following countries :

	The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea)	= D.P.R. Korea
	The People's Republic of China (Mainland China)	= P.R. China
	The Republic of China (Taiwan)	= R. China
	The Republic of Korea (South Korea)	= R. Korea
	The United Kingdom	= U.K.
	The United States of America	= U.S.A.

    The following regional divisions have been applied to those instruments the specific regions of which remain unclear :

	E. Asia	(Japan, the Korean Peninsula, China, Mongolia)
	India	(India, Nepal, Bangladesh)
	S.E. Asia	(Indo-China, Indonesia, the Philippines, Melanesia, Papua New Guinea)
	Oceania	(Australia, New Zealand, Vanuatu, Tahiti)
	Former U.S.S.R.
	S.W. Asia	(Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, the Arabian Peninsula, Turkey, Greece)
	Europe
	N. America
	Africa
	S. America	(including Mexico and Central America)

6.Maker
    In addition to individual names, the entry for maker includes names of factories, companies, and agents.

7.Date
    Approximate date is designated by c.(circa), while C.stands for century. Concerning those instruments that were new at the time of purchase, the year of purchase is considered to be the year of manufacture, even if the maker is not identified.

8.Note
    "Note" may include the following items :

	Tonal range :	soprano, alto, etc.
	Pitch name :
	Structure :	ex.) unfretted, historically significant construction
	Reproduction :	When an identifiable instrument is reproduced, the maker of the original instrument and the date are shown alongside with the sign Mod. (Model). Otherwise the sign Reproduction only has been used.
	Restoration :	When an instrument has undergone any major restoration, the person or organization (ex. K. C. M. [Kunitachi College of Music] ) is specified.

Concerning Systematics
1) Classification and Systematics
    Since ancient times people have made various attempts at classification of musical instruments, which number as many as one-hundred. Dictionary definitions for the word "classification" read: "to sort according to kinds," or "a thorough division in order to organize and systematize facts or perceptions of them." (Izuru Niimura ed., Kôjien. Tokyo : Iwanami Shoten, 1979) As is widely acknowledged, the idea of classification first appeared in the field of biology. However great the number of creatures that may inhabit the earth, they all exist within and according to the consistent principles of the cosmos, which in turn makes it possible to classify and systematize them following those governing principles.
    Musical instruments, on the other hand, are simply tools subordinate to the human act of producing sounds. This means that anything can be a musical instrument so long as it meets the singly requirement that one can perform music using it. In other words, we can consider musical instruments as a set of miscellaneous objects which share no other common features than this very basic condition.
    Here we must be at the same time aware of the fact that classification as such is to be conducted on existent objects.
    Since olden times musical instruments have been born and grown in terms of the ideal of man toward sound. A glance at the musical instruments all over the world would suggest to us that the means for man to develop further ideal sounds are inexhaustible, and there remains every possible likelihood that instruments will incessantly make new appearances as long as man persists in his desire for sound.
    Although the present age has witnessed an expansion in a variety of academic fields, most notably the discipline of ethnology, we can hardly say that all the instruments in the world have been dealt with exhaustively. As a result of this, it is clear that "a thorough division and systematization," i.e. classification by means of form and material can hardly be attained.
    On the other hand it is not altogether impossible to observe and classify musical instruments from the perspective of various phenomena of sound, which is itself one of the physical phenomena of the cosmos. Among the classifications so far made, those which employed this type of methodology have obtained certain results ; one such example can be seen in the classification system of Hornbostel and Sachs.
2) Systematics employed in this catalogue
    This catalogue employs the following methodology : firstly, seven important items have been selected from the factors which serve to generate the sound of an instrument ; then by attaching theoretically acceptable instances to each of the seven items, a systematic framework has been established within which each instrument has been alloted a place. It is hoped that this methodology of systematics will not only be applicable to existing instruments, but also to any instrument yet to emerge.

Items and their definitions

1. Form of vibrating body
1. Solid (massa)

    Three-dimensional object ; produces mainly longitudinal vibrations.
2. Hollow solid (cupa)

    A solid with a cavity inside ; produces mainly transverse vibrations.
3. Stick (clava)

    One-dimensional object with either a circular or a equilateral polygonal section ; the movement which brings about vibration works at right angles to the length of the object, producing mainly transverse vibrations.
4. Board (tabula)

    Object extending conspicuously in two dimensions ; the movement which brings about vibration works at right angles to the face of the object, producing mainly transverse vibrations.
5. String (chorda)

    Object long in one dimension, the sectional diameter of which is much smaller than the length. Without the addition of tension it neither takes a straight form nor possesses elasticity. The movement which brings about the vibration works at right angles to the length of the object, producing mainly transverse vibrations.
6. Membrane (membrana)

    Object extending conspicuously in two dimensions, the thickness of which is, in proportion to its area, extremely small. Without the addition of tension it neither takes the form of a plane nor possesses elasticity. The movement which brings about vibration works at right angles to the face of the object, producing mainly transverse vibrations.
2. Material of vibrating body
1. Part of the human body
2. Plants : wood, bamboo, hemp, gourd, nut, etc.
3. Animals : skin, bone, cocoon, silk, carapace, etc.
4. Minerals : metal, stone, clay, etc.
5. Gas : air, other gas
6. Liquid : water, oil, etc.
7. Synthetic materials : resin, etc.
3. Source of vibration
1. Percussion

    Percussion occurs when two objects collide with each other, producing vibration after moving into opposite directions as a result of the elasticity of both of them.
2. Friction

    Friction designates vibration that occurs as a result of rubbing with emerges when two objects touch with pressure and then move relatively.
3. Plucking

    When a directional force is exerted to a part of a vibrating body, causing distortion to it, and is then released, the internal stress accumulated by the distortion functions as generative force causing vibration.
4. Air current

    Air current vibration occurs in a vibrating body when it undergoes changes of air density and pressure caused by air currents.
5. Electronic oscillation

    In this case vibration of the vibrating body is caused electronically.
4. Application of vibration
1. Direct application

    A part of the performer's body directly touches the vibrating body.
2. Indirect application

    The performer and the vibrating body do not touch directly ; instead, an object functioning as a part of the performer's body intervenes between the performer and the vibrating body.
3. Mechanical application

    The performance action of the performer is transmuted into another action by means of mechanical equipment.
5. Conversion of vibration
1. The vibration of the vibrating body is not converted.
2. The vibration of the vibrating body is converted by resonance.
3. The vibration of the vibrating body is converted by forced vibration.
4. The vibration of the vibrating body is converted into electric vibration.
6. Form of converting part
1. Solid (massa)
2. Hollow solid (cupa)
3. Board (tabula)
4. Membrane (membrana)
5. String (chorda)
6. Stick (clava)
7. Material of converting part
1. Part of the human body
2. Plants
3. Animals
4. Minerals
5. Gas
6. Liquid
7. Synthetic materials

Major references for regional names and systematics
Atanassov, Vergilij   1977 Systematik der Bulgarischen Volksmusikinstrumente. Sofia : Bulgarische Akademie der Wissenschaften.
Chang, Sa-hun   1969 Han'guk akki taegwan. (Korean Musical Instruments). Seoul.
Dhanit, Yupho   1971 Thai Musical Instruments. Thailand : The Department of Fine Arts.
Stanislaw Oledzki   1978 Polskie Instrumenty Ludowe. Polskie Wyadawnictwo Muzycz ne Krakow.
······1975 Tradicijska Narodna Glazbala Jugoslavije. Zagreb
Vertkov, K. & others   1975 Atlas of musical instruments of the peoples inhabiting the USSR. Moscow : State Publishers Music.
Zhongguo yishu yanjiuyuan yinyue yanjiusuo (Research Institute for Music of the Chinese Academy of Arts) 1985 Zhongguo yueqi shaojie. Beijing : renmin Yinyue Chubanshe.
GUNJI Sumi   1979 "Eine Betrachtung über sichtbare und unsichtbare Eigenschaften der Volksmusikinstrumente(II)", Memoire of Kunitachi College of Music. No.14.
GUNJI Sumi   1981 "Eine Betrachtung über sichtbare und unsichtbare Eigenschaften der Volksmusikinstrumente (III)", Memoire of Kunitachi College of Music. No.16.