A beautiful biwa brought to Japan through the Silk Road is preserved at Shoso-In in Nara prefecture. Japan's oldest epic tale, Heike Monogatari (the Story of Heike) is sung to biwa accompaniment. There are three playing styles of biwa, Heike Monogatari featuring all three; the noble and profound Heike biwa, the wild Satsuma biwa and the graceful Chikuzan biwa.
