An unusual station music for commuters
Tokyo: Minoru Mukaiya is one of the world’s most played musicians, with millions of people across Japan listening to his songs every day — but most of them don’t even notice.
Mukaiya is a composer of “Hassha Merodii” or “train departure melodies”, short jingles that whisk commuters on their way at some of the world’s busiest stations.
Almost no one would know his most famous track by name, a catchy electronic ditty broadcast for departures from platforms three and four at Tokyo’s Shibuya station — the world’s third busiest — but millions have it on their brains for hours after their commute.
Asked how many train jingles he has created, the 61- year- old former keyboard player with the jazzfusion band Casiopea pauses. He has lost count and an assistant rushes over with a list.
“170? What? I wrote 170,” he says, exploding with laughter. “That can’t be right!”
“Hassha Merodii” is so common now in Japan that locals are unfazed when the sharp twang of an electronic keyboard or an organ’s trill spills out of a loudspeaker but tourists are often thrilled.
Nevertheless, Mukaiya’s work has attracted a cult following.
He has more than 34,000 Twitter followers, performs the ditties at concerts to thousands of screaming fans and is now banned from playing at Ginza statio the epicentre of Tokyo swank.