The Siren Board

IHaveAName wrote: ↑

Fri Apr 15, 2022 2:24 pm

Along with the article mentioned above, another person bought discs of the music siren atop Marumitsu:

The『懐かしのせんだいＣＭ大百科』(Nostalgic CM Encyclopedia) CD album seems to have been released on November 23, 2007. I'm so glad that that Twitter user still held on to their copy of the disc after so long!

Twitter link to "Kono Michi/この道" (This Road, uploaded from the CD)
There's a startup clunk and some motor whine! The G4 note works fine. However, the motor slows down a tiny bit right before the (extremely rapid) wind down, which is weird! According to the Livedoor article, this was apparently recorded sometime in 1968.

Twitter link to "Arajo no Tsuki/荒城の月" (Moon over the Ruined Castle, uploaded from the CD)
This time the startup sounds seem less pronounced, and only the D5 note is audible during the wind up and down. More importantly, the wind down is free and slow, indicating that whatever problem it had in 1968 was fixed.
However, the G4 damper seems to close immediately after it opens, so it only sounds a short burst instead of sustaining like in the "Kono Michi" recording. This happens consistently throughout the song.

On Youtube there is another recording of Marumitsu's music siren playing Arajo no Tsuki/Moon over the Ruined Castle. In this recording, the G4 damper is now working fine. Instead the F4-sharp/G4-flat damper acts up! During the first 2 notes of the whole song (and also at 0:20), it has difficulty staying open. The B3 note suffers from "damper bounce" if you listen closely at 0:27 and 0:30. Iga City Hall's music siren also suffers from damper bounce on its A4 note.

Finally, we have another creepy-sounding recording of the same siren and song. What sets this final recording apart is the fact that multiple dampers appear to be nonfunctional, or making sound for a shorter time than usual. The Youtube description mentions reviving the broken music siren which had become out of tune.
From this Instagram post, on September 23, 1987, the music siren was played for the first time since its July breakdown, because Marumitsu was reluctant to retire the siren. This creepy recording could have been captured during that September day, marking one of its last ever performances. It was played twice on that day.

IHaveAName wrote: ↑

Fri Apr 15, 2022 2:24 pm

a train whistle during the 2016 sounding of 'This Road'.

Just to clarify, the train whistle (and amusement park sounds) were both present in the original recordings on the CD, but were first discovered on the recordings of the 70th anniversary revivals in 2016, where these CD recordings were played through speakers. IMO, they boost the nostalgia levels very high!

Alright, I did a bit of digging about the Kobayashi department store in Niigata, and I found some interesting things:
The Kobayashi Department Store was located at the Mitsukoshi Niigata store, now a brand by Isetan, located at 5 Banchō-866 Nishiboridōri in Niigata Chuo ward.
It was said that the music siren was installed in October of 1958 and began playing 'Home Sweet Home' at 8PM to encourage locals to head to bed or head home. An audio clip of the music siren was featured, but unfortunately, it doesn't load or work anymore.
https://www.kobayashi-dept.com/all/melody-siren/

I've returned to this thread with good and bad news.
Firstly, a user on Twitter actually found an image of Marumitsu's music siren, including a wide-angle. The music siren was mounted on the East side of the department store on a roof platform.

Second, another user on Twitter went out to film the Yawatahama music siren. Unfortunately, it was revealed with the clip that the lower G note on the music siren has become partially stuck open, as faintly heard in the video.
https://twitter.com/takahashi_x_x_/stat ... 4390458369

This is honestly pretty neat, I didn't know these existed. I never in my life thought that id hear about YAMAHA making some sort of siren.
Very informative post too.

It's been a while since this thread was last updated, and I almost entirely forgot about this board. So, I've decided to come back with a few updates:
1:
A new location: a music siren once sat atop the Miki City Chamber of Commerce building from 1979 to 1994. It was also listed to have played the song "Blacksmith in the village", the time played is unknown.
2:
The music siren of Taiyo Department Store in Kumamoto has been documented (as in found in a photo), see below:

Yes, that's smoke being emitted. The picture was taken in 1973 during a fire that actually ended up on the New York Times.
Also along with the fire, the music siren had disappeared in an image taken in 1975, 2 years after the fire, and likely a few years prior to the disbanding of the Taiyo company.

3:
The music siren of Isejin Department Store in Mito was also (likely) documented, see below:



Unfortunately, not much more has been found other than that. I'll try to update as soon as more information is posted.

The music sirens atop the YAMAHA headquarters seem to be stored in a building, somewhere.
[Taken August 2020 by YAMAHA staff]

YAY! so they weren't scrapped!!!

I've found what could possibly be Imabari City Hall's music siren, in the background of an old pic of the city hall. Here's the website where I found the image.



No better images have been found yet. I'll attempt to contact the Imabari City Hall for more information.

IHaveAName wrote: ↑

Mon Jul 18, 2022 3:06 pm

The music sirens atop the YAMAHA headquarters seem to be stored in a building, somewhere.
[Taken August 2020 by YAMAHA staff]

Thank you SO MUCH for finding this! I have wanted an answer to this ever since I started researching. I'm SO VERY GLAD they are still alive and not scrapped!

Here's the Iga City Hall's music siren freshly installed!