Yamaha Design Laboratory curates toy pianos as traditional Japanese furniture

Yamaha design laboratory along with Chiba University’s department of design has come forth with a collection that’s focused on sustaining the past, instead of the present or the future. Their latest ‘Sumida toy piano’ collection reinvents Japanese cultural values by introducing old furniture pieces as pianos. The product design collection consisting of three toy pianos is all set to display in Yamaha’s Ginza shop in Tokyo from 29th April 2022 to 30th May 2022. “We thought that there may be hints in past cultures that contribute to the design ideas of the SDGs sustainability, whereas many of the designers' interests tend to focus on cutting-edge technology and research. So, we focused on the culture and lifestyle in tenements of the ‘Downtown Tokyo’ during the Edo-era, hundreds of years ago. We posed a hypothetical question, What if the piano evolved independently in Japan, taking into account the influence of past cultures and lifestyles?” points out Akie Hinokio, lead designer of Yamaha Design Laboratories.

For over 170 years, Yamaha has been an important contributor to the popularisation of western music and instrumental culture in Japan. However, with the growing negligence towards the cultural and traditional values of Japan, Yamaha is focused on reintroducing ancient Japanese values to the new generation. The first of the three toy pianos, Hiki Tansu, is a rendition of the old chest of drawers from Japanese weddings. These chests posed as gifts in large gatherings including weddings and baby showers, where they symbolised a wish for good life and well-being to the bearer. Yamaha has designed the piano as the keyboard cantilevered from the middle drawer of the chest. “Instead of just superficially merging the keyboard into a special Japanese furniture, we visualized a design concept of a piano instrument that would reveal and showcase the perceptions and emotional values that were connected to the Japanese vintage culture and lifestyle of the Edo-era. Finally, we produced the Japanese furniture-style pianos called ‘Sumida Pianos’, with three prototypes,” says Hinokio.

Meanwhile, the Oto-Tsukue piano involves a keyboard installed in an old Japanese writing desk. Inspired by the minimal desks with distinctive legs from ‘Terakoya music schools’, the piano takes up the look of Fudukue which was an old writing table.

Finally, the Sukima Piano draws references from the wooden partitions used in old Japanese houses. As the ancient Japanese lore narrates, the see-through partitions were commonly used in Japan’s Nagaya houses of present-day Downtown Tokyo for segregating spaces. In this particular design, the vertical metal bars for tone scale create an interesting diagonal pattern which in turn depicts a beautiful wooden partition.

Yamaha Corporation was established in 1887 by Torakusu Yamaha in Japan. The company’s vast band of products hallmark the music industry across the world with its instruments. They have been focused on commemorating the performing art with their world-class products. Though they happen to be the pioneers of modernity in music, the ‘Sumida toy piano’ collection by Yamaha is focused on bringing the Japanese roots of social values and ingenuity to life.