Japanese

Pronunciation

• On'yomi: Goon
• (Tokyo) わごん [wàgóń] (Heiban - [0])^[1]
• IPA^(key): [ɰᵝa̠ɡ̃õ̞ɴ]

Alternative forms

• 和琴

Noun

倭琴 ‎(hiragana わごん, romaji wagon)

1. Alternative spelling of 和琴: (music) a six-stringed koto or zither used to perform kagura music, more common in ancient times

Usage notes

The 和琴 spelling is much more common, due to the dwarf connotations of the 倭 character.

Etymology 2

Compound of 倭 ‎(Yamato, ancient name for Japan) +‎ 琴 ‎(koto, “a koto, a zither”).^[2]The koto changes to goto as an instance of rendaku (連濁).

Pronunciation

• (Irregular reading)
• (Tokyo) やまとご​と [yàmátógóꜜtò] (Nakadaka - [4])^[1]
• IPA^(key): [ja̠ma̠to̞ɡ̃o̞to̞]

Alternative forms

• 大和琴

Noun

倭琴 ‎(hiragana やまとごと, romaji yamatogoto)

1. Alternative spelling of 大和琴: (music) a six-stringed koto or zither used to perform kagura music, more common in ancient times

Usage notes

The 大和琴 spelling is much more common, due to the dwarf connotations of the 倭 character.

References

1. 1 2 2006, 大辞林 (Daijirin), Third Edition (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Sanseidō, ISBN 4-385-13905-9
2. ↑ 1988, 国語大辞典（新装版） (Kokugo Dai Jiten, Revised Edition) (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan