With the exception of instruments such as the Wagon (a six-stringed flat zither that was invented in the Yayoi period) and the Kokyu (a three- or four-stringed bowed instrument whose origins are unknown), most Wagakki are originally from the Asian continent.
弥生時代から続く和琴(わごん)や起源不明の胡弓など一部を除き、大陸に由来するものがほとんどである。