Mini Piano in parallel world Edo old Tokyo

Created in collaboration with the Department of design, Chiba University.

Yamaha Design Laboratory collaborate with the Department of design, Chiba University. "If the piano had existed during the Edo-era", When working on designs that contribute to the SDGs, designers tend to focus only on the present and the future, but we should also learn from the past. Several hundred years ago, when Japan was closed to the world, it had a unique lifestyle and culture, seen in the Sumida tenement district of downtown Tokyo, for example.

Modernization in Japan means Westernization, and the traditional Japanese lifestyle has been gradually lost over the last 170 years since Japan opened up. During this period Yamaha has pioneered the introduction and popularization of western music culture and musical instruments in Japan.

Yamaha Design Laboratory collaborate with the Department of design, Chiba University. And we revisited the old lifestyle of tenement residents in Edo-Sumida, to study and preserve Japanese traditional culture, Then came up with three prototypes of the "Sumida Toy piano", Japanese furniture-style pianos.

*Click the exhibition images to view a slide show.

Title Chiba University Graduation Research and Production Exhibition
Dates March 18 (Fri) to 20 (Sun), 2022 (Limited exhibition)
Cooperation Atlier SOUGEIKAN – traditional craftmanship Chochin-paper lantern in Sumida
Manaka-Mokkousho inc. - order made woodwork manufacturer in Sumida