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This amusing article appeared in a Japan newspaper, 朝日新聞 Asahi Shimbun (News), on July 10, 2009. It describes how the extensive publicity of photos and videos of Nobu playing on a mini piano (when he was a child) triggered a shopping spree in Japan for a mini piano of the exact model, resulting in a one-month backlog.
photo shown via Internet link - caption: 辻井伸行さんが幼いころに遊んでいた機種と同じミニピアノ。オルゴールのような音色が響く＝浜松市中区の河合楽器製作所 Mini piano of the same model that Mr. Nobuyuki Tsujii played at an early age. The music box is produced by Kawai Musical Instruments Manufacturing Co., Ltd. in Naka Ward, Hamamatsu
朝日新聞 2009年7月10日
辻井さん遊んだミニピアノ、売れまくり １カ月待ち
米国の国際ピアノコンクールで優勝した全盲のピアニスト辻井伸行さん（２０）が幼いころに親しんだおもちゃのミニピアノが、売れに売れている。辻井さんの優勝以来、製造元の河合楽器製作所（浜松市中区）には注文が殺到し、生産が追いつかないほど。我が子や孫に使わせたいと、父母や祖父母らからの問い合わせが引きも切らない。
ミニピアノは、河合楽器が８４年に販売を始めた。主に幼児が対象の知育玩具で、弦の代わりに金属製のパイプをハンマーでたたいて音を出す。正確な音程と音の強弱をつけられることが特徴で、オルゴールのような澄んだ音色を奏でる。鍵盤の数やデザインの違いで８機種（４千～１万８千円）を用意。辻井さんが遊んでいたのは、鍵盤が２５あるタイプ（５７７５円）だ。
河合楽器によると、玩具メーカーなどが作る電子音の鳴るキーボードやミニピアノは数多いが、楽器メーカーが作る本格的なアコースティックのミニピアノは国内では同社だけが手掛けているという。
６月７日に辻井さんがバン・クライバーン国際ピアノコンクールで優勝すると、幼いころにミニピアノで遊んでいたことが朝日新聞などで紹介され、問い合わせが殺到した。例年、６月は１千～１５００台が売れるが、今年は月３千台に迫る売れ行き。河合楽器広報課は「全国で品薄になっていて、これまでにない売れ行き」と話す。
同社に隣接する直営店「浜松ショップ」には、祖父母らから「辻井さんが使っていたものと同じものがほしい」などの問い合わせが相次いでいる。担当者は「早々に在庫が底をつき、入荷まで１カ月待ちの状態」という。
「カワイ名古屋」（名古屋市中区）では、６月だけで９０台が売れた。例年の６月の販売台数は５～６台で、同店は「クリスマス需要がある１２月でも３０台程度なので、とにかく驚いている」。東京の旗艦店「カワイ表参道」（東京都渋谷区）でも６月に５０台近くを売り、例年の約４倍の売れ行きという。
ミニピアノとともに、おもちゃの木琴なども売り上げを伸ばしているという。河合楽器広報課は「辻井さんの演奏に感動し、幼いうちに音楽に触れさせて感性を磨きたいと考える親御さんたちが増えているのではないか」と話している。（滝沢隆史）
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Asahi Shimbun (News) , July 10, 2009
Mr. Tsujii's playing triggered selling spree of mini-pianos - One month's backlog
Blind pianist Nobuyuki Tsujii (20), who won the International Piano Competition in the United States, has stimulated the sales of toy pianos.
Since the victory of Mr. Tsujii, Kawai Musical Instruments Manufacturing Co., Ltd. (Hamamatsu, Naka-ku), a manufacturer, has wrestled with rush orders, as production cannot keep up with demands from parents and grandparents who seek the instrument for their children and grandchildren.
Kawai began selling mini pianos in 1984. Targeted as an educational toy for infants, the sound is produced using hammer-struck metallic rods instead of strings, producing accurate pitch and intensity of sound. The sound has the clarity of a music box. There are 8 models available (¥ 4,000 ~ 18,000). varying in design of the keyboard. The model that Mr Tsujii played has 25 keys (¥ 5775).
According to Kawai, although there are numerous makers for mini piano keyboards and toy music synthesizers, the company is the only manufacturer in the country of full-fledged mini piano acoustic instrument.
When Mr. Tsujii won the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition on June 7, it was reported in the media -- such as the Asahi News -- that he played a mini piano at an early age. Soon, inquiries started to flood in. Normally, 1,000 to 1,500 units of mini-pianos are sold in June, but this year sales was close to 3,000 units in one month. "They have become scarce in the country, sales have been unprecedented," according to the Kawai Public Relations Department.
At the " Hamamatsu shop" adjacent to the company <that manufactures the piano>, queries came from grandparents who said they "want the same thing that Mr. Tsujii was using." A clerk said, "We ran out of stock early - there is a one month backlog."
At Kawai Nagoya (in Naka-ku, Nagoya), 90 units were sold in June alone. In normal years, only 5 or 6 units are sold in June. For a shop that "sells about 30 units in December for Christmas", this was a big surprise. Nearly 50 units were sold in June at "Kawai Omotesando" (Shibuya-ku, Tokyo), Tokyo's flagship store , about four times of its normal sales.
Along with mini piano, sales have also increased for toy xylophones. A spokesman for the Kawai's public relations office said, "Impressed by Mr. Tsujii's performance, friends and parents want to cultivate music exposure and sensitivity at an early age." (Takashi Takizawa)
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