A percussion instrument used in both noh and kabuki music, it can be broadly divided into two types: kotsuzumi and ōtsuzumi ('small' and 'large'tsuzumi, respectively). In kabuki music, the word tsuzumi simply refers to the kotsuzumi, while the ōtsuzumi is also called ōkawa.
Both have a wooden body between two pieces of leather stretched over iron rings, and fastened with ropes called shibare that are strung between the two drumheads. The kotsuzumi is held in the left hand and placed on the right shoulder, then struck with the right hand; varying the tension of the ropes with the left hand results in a variety of pitches. By contrast, the leather of the ōtsuzumi is dried beforehand and then tightly tied, then held under the left arm and struck with the right hand. It only produces one high-pitched sound, but variations can be made by changing the volume and timbre. In noh, the basic formation is a four-person group that also includes a taiko drum (shime-daiko) and a flute (nohkan), and when a singer is added, it becomes the five-person group known to Japanese from the hina ningyo (Girls' Day doll) displays.
In kabuki, the number of kotsuzumi is often increased and they are lined up on the stage; they are also skilled in the intricate rhythm known as chirikara-byoushi, which matches the characteristic shamisen rhythm from the nagauta song genre.