Description:
Bul Bul Tarang (India), Benju (Pakistan) or
kottafoshi (Maldives). Alternate names include Indian or Japan Banjo.
it is a plucked zither having 5 or 6 strings tuned in unison and member
of the chordophone family. The taisho goto was invented Morita Goro
during the Taisho period in 1912 where it originally had two strings. A
key system was mounted onto the top of the instrument as an attempt to
modernize the niganken. During the 1920s the popularity of the
taishogoto arose in the musical clubs. The taishogoto was imported to
South Asia where it remains quite popular.
Anatomy of the Bul Taishogoto / Bul Bul Tarang:
The components of this musical instrument are formed around a wooden
sound box, fretboard, strings, five tuning gears, a lacquered and
mounted cover and 26 mechanical 
keys.
Each plastic button is numbered according to a cypher system. The
assembly of each key includes a single spring, and the key its self
attached to the instrument from underneath the cover. In India the bul
bul tarang is either manufactured with buttons or piano like keys. Many
of these instruments are now made with electric pickups. In Japan the
Taishogoto is available even with midi controllers built into the
instrument. On both the bul bul tarang and the taishogoto strings are
stretched and are all tuned in unison (meaning to the same note). The
Taishogoto does have two drone strings attached that are not pressed
with the keys. Five tuning gears are mounted underneath a plastic tray.
When playing this instrument keys are pressed thus producing a pitch by
striking the strings in between each fret. The frets are positioned in
a chromatic 12-tone scale. A sound hole is cut into the top of the body
on right side of the instrument. A metal flange holds the strings in
place.