Save Gender Masculine Usage Japanese Scripts 琴屋, 琴允, 琴弥, 琴矢, 九一八, 言代, etc.(Japanese Kanji) Pronounced Pron. KO-TO-YAH [key] Meaning & History From Japanese 琴 (koto), which refers to a type of musical instrument similar to a harp, combined with 屋 (ya) meaning "shop" or 代 (ya) meaning "generation". Other kanji combinations are also possible.