Photo/Illutration 'Koto' player LEO gives a live performance using plectrums made of cellulose nanofiber during a presentation of the product in Tokyo on Nov. 14. (Hideki Aota)

With the use of ivory becoming increasingly taboo, trading company Itochu Corp. and its partners have developed plant-based plectrums for the koto Japanese harp.

The companies said the picks, made from cellulose nanofiber (CNF), can create harp sounds as beautiful as those produced with traditional ivory plectrums.

CNF is a fairly new material whose market is expected to grow to 1 trillion yen ($7.12 billion) by 2030.

“We would like to protect and nurture Japanese musical instruments’ culture and the skills of craftspeople who make them by using state‐of‐the‐art technology,” an Itochu official said.

Itochu plans to eventually use the fiber to manufacture larger industrial products.

The Washington Convention bans the international trade of ivory with few exceptions. The Japanese government strictly regulates domestic trade of ivory.

Musicians are even required to obtain special certificates to take instruments made of ivory overseas.

Itochu officials initially found that plectrums made of alternative materials, such as plastic, couldn’t produce sounds matching those of the ivory tools.

Company officials then focused on CNF, which weighs one-fifth that of iron but is five times as strong.

They teamed up with Osaka-based Risho Kogyo Co., whose strength lies in compression and molding technologies, and Mishimaya Gakkiten in Nagaoka, Niigata Prefecture, a long-established manufacturer and seller of Japanese musical instruments.

The three companies announced the development of the CNF koto plectrums at a presentation in Tokyo on Nov. 14.

“Even professional musicians can’t quickly tell the difference in sound (between CNF and ivory),” said LEO, a koto player who gave a live performance using a CNF plectrum during the presentation.

CNF fibers, which are 1/10,000th the width of human hair, need to be shaped like plates to make the koto plectrums.

Craftspeople then shave them by hand.

A set of CNF koto plectrums for the thumb, index finger and middle finger is priced at 13,200 yen, including tax.

This is more expensive than a set of ivory ones, which usually costs between 5,000 yen and 10,000 yen.

However, Itochu believes musicians increasingly want to produce beautiful sounds without using ivory.

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