3) Attaching Added parts/Decoration
Attaching all parts, including decoration is called “Tsutsumishigoto”. The major parts are: kuchimae (mouth, lips, and a tongue) , oak leaf (kashiwaba), stripes each side of fixed bridges(shibburoku), fixed bridge at tail (ryukaku and unkaku), etc. The quality of Koto depending on the nature of materials as well as the design of oak leaf and other parts.
Today, about 70% of Koto are produced in Fukuyama city, Hiroshima prefecture in Japan.