This museum houses large jukebox-sized music boxes. The collection consists of 30 authentic antique music boxes from around 130 years ago. There are three rare music boxes, each of which is the only one of its kind in Japan. The collection includes music boxes that would have been placed in a grand train station waiting room, ones that street performers could pull around on carts.
There is one that was commissioned by an Arabian king for his wife, a one-of-a-kind Swiss music box that took several years to make. It would have been made for her entertainment in the palace, as at that time it would have been difficult for her to go into town.
Many of the music boxes were operated by coins, and there is a collection of the correct foreign currency corresponding to each coin-operated music box.
Music boxes of this style were only popular for about 30 years. When Thomas Edison invented the record player in 1877, music boxes quickly became obsolete. Only the Germans, Swiss, and Americans ever developed the technology to make them, and only the Swiss developed the technology to make cylindrical music boxes, which were more difficult to produce. Many modern craftsmen, including the curator of the museum, have tried to reproduce antique music boxes. However, all have failed.
Entrance to the museum costs 200 yen and includes a tour, during which the curators play the various music boxes. If you’re lucky, they might even let you play some of them yourselves!
