Pipa is a traditional musical instrument which has a pear-shaped wooden body with a varying number of frets ranging from 12 to 31. Sometimes it is called the ‘Chinese lute’.
The pipa is one of the most popular Chinese instruments and has been played for almost two thousand years in China. Several related instruments are derived from the pipa, one of them is the Japanese biwa.
Benzaiten, one of the Seven Lucky Gods and patron of artists, writers, dancers, and geisha, oftentimes depicted holding a biwa.