I received in the mail yesterday a request from this museum to know
what music rolls were available for their various instruments.  Junichi
Natori, the curator of the collection wants to enlarge the museum's
roll library.

As far as I can determine from the pictures in the Japanese brochures
enclosed with Natori-san's letter and, more so, from the museum's
web site, Moeginomura is a planned, utopian community which has become a
thriving tourist attraction.  The Hall of Halls is devoted to
mechanical music and consists of a very wide-ranging collection of
operating instruments for the enlightenment and entertainment of the
public.

Here are a few of the instruments which are demonstrated:

  * Welte Style 4
  * Mermod Freres cylinder box
  * Limonaire band organ, made for the 1900 Paris Exposition
  * Nelson Wiggen orchestrion
  * Phono-Liszt (piano, with 3 violins)
  * Chickering Ampico Grand
  * Automaton figures
  * Verbeeck Band Organ (1996); large, with 618 pipes (?; specs. are
    in Japanese, but this has 618 of something)
  * mechanical organ made in 1991 by a young Japanese on European model
  * Disk instrument (Stella, Mira, or Regina?)
  * MacKinnon accordeon "band organ"
  * more ...

As I say, something for everyone and a good introduction for the
Japanese public to Western mechanical music.  But how does one
economically ship music rolls or books to Japan from the U.S.?
Shipping will cost more than the music.

Take a look at the Hall of Halls web site, English version:

    http://www.sannichi-ybs.co.jp/MOEGI/e-hall.html

for sound clips and movies of the instruments in operation:

    http://www.sannichi-ybs.co.jp/MOEGI/e-music.html

for information on the larger Moeginomura community and its purposes:

    http://www.sannichi-ybs.co.jp/MOEGI/index.html


Matthew Caulfield