<p><strong>It is <em>Charumera</em> tune, famously known to indicate the presence of <em>ramen</em> food car(t)</strong>.</p>
<p><em>Charumera</em> is a double-reeded musical instrument that originated from China, known as <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suona" rel="noreferrer"><em>sunoa</em></a>, similar to the oboe. (Not to be confused with a ramen brand with the same name by Myojo/Nissin and a PS1 game with the same name). The name <em>charumera</em> itself was derived from the Portuguese word <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shawm" rel="noreferrer"><em>charamela</em></a>, a similar but different musical instrument brought by them when they visited Japan during the beginning of the Edo period.</p>
<p>According to <a href="https://www.yamaha.com/en/musical_instrument_guide/oboe/trivia/trivia005.html" rel="noreferrer">Yamaha - Trivia : The charumera was the oboe's cousin</a></p>
<blockquote>
<p>The charumera was a woodwind instrument that was played by people running ramen stands in the not-too-distant past.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>According to <a href="https://archive.org/details/charumera_202002" rel="noreferrer">Archive.org - Charumera (PS1 Game)</a></p>
<blockquote>
<p>the word “charumera” is actually derived from the Portuguese “charamela”, a type of flute that was brought to Japan around 400 years ago. This flute has traditionally been used by yatai (ramen mobile food stalls, [...]</p>
</blockquote>
<p>According to <a href="https://easternmind.tumblr.com/post/694414075295350784/charumera" rel="noreferrer">J A P A N o F I L E S # 8 – Chronicle of Starting a Shina Soba Shop</a>,</p>
<blockquote>
<p>The name ‘charumera’ refers to a double-reed woodwind instrument that is said to have derived from ‘charamela’ – Portuguese for shawm -, hinting at a possible introduction to the Japanese by way of Christian missionaries from that provenance sometime during the 16th century. The simplicity of the instrument made it popular among pushcart owners, not only because its sound signalled their impending arrival, but also due to the clever employment of signature melodies in what can only be described as a primordial manifestation of brand awareness. All these practices are exquisitely demonstrated in a <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q5_jpPi4ltQ" rel="noreferrer">scene</a> from Yasujirō Ozu’s 1936 film Hitori Musuko (The Only Son). Needless to say, a viewing of the entire picture is most advised.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Some videos demonstrating the action:</p>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z9dgsjsg_LI" rel="noreferrer">リヤカー屋台ラーメン大統領　チャルメラの音</a>: a traditional ramen food cart with the real instrument (warning: loud sound)</li>
<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JqCz5u4U9M4" rel="noreferrer">Old Style Ramen Stall - Ramen Cart - Japanese Street Food</a>: a traditional ramen food cart with recorded sound (warning: loud sound at the beginning)</li>
<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0_-qNhHXdnY" rel="noreferrer">【チャルメラ】突然聞こえてきた懐かしのメロディー「屋台ラーメンが家の前を通りがかったよ」</a>: a modern ramen food car with recorded sound</li>
</ul>
<hr />
<p>Additional references:</p>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E3%83%81%E3%83%A3%E3%83%AB%E3%83%A1%E3%83%A9" rel="noreferrer">Japanese Wikipedia - Charumera</a></li>
<li><a href="https://detail.chiebukuro.yahoo.co.jp/qa/question_detail/q1135435371" rel="noreferrer">Yahoo! Chiebukuro</a> (Japanese)</li>
</ul>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2023-05-30T18:30:19.030Z
This famous ramen cart tune is also the first tune that Yui plays on Gitā in K-On!
RobR
CC BY-SA 4.0
2023-05-27T07:10:52.150Z
2023-05-27T07:19:01.760Z
2023-05-27T07:19:01.760Z
Aki Tanaka
<p>Example clip:
<a href="https://i.imgur.com/7OgVPIc.mp4" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https://i.imgur.com/7OgVPIc.mp4</a></p>
<p>In Maison Ikkoku (which takes place in Tokyo, and was released in the 90s), this person on a cycle occasionally cycles past and makes this silly horn sound. The clip above doesn't show the cyclist, but it shows the sound being played. If I come across a clip with the cyclist, I'll post that one too.</p>
<p>My question is: what is this? Is the cyclist selling something? Is this something common that Japanese people will recognize? All I'm aware of is, sometimes, men will walk across the street hollering their wares in a sing-song voice, like &quot;baked potatoes~ (yaki-imo)&quot;. Is this like that?</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-04-21T14:31:12.347Z
In episode 51 you can see the person on the bike playing the sound.
user1744
<culture><japan><maison-ikkoku>
What is this silly horn sound that's always made by someone on the street in Maison Ikkoku?
# What is this silly horn sound that's always made by someone on the street in Maison Ikkoku?
Posted by: username_0 on 2023-05-27
Example clip:
<https://i.imgur.com/7OgVPIc.mp4>

In Maison Ikkoku (which takes place in Tokyo, and was released in the 90s), this person on a cycle occasionally cycles past and makes this silly horn sound. The clip above doesn't show the cyclist, but it shows the sound being played. If I come across a clip with the cyclist, I'll post that one too.

My question is: what is this? Is the cyclist selling something? Is this something common that Japanese people will recognize? All I'm aware of is, sometimes, men will walk across the street hollering their wares in a sing-song voice, like "baked potatoes~ (yaki-imo)". Is this like that?
**Tags:** culture japan maison-ikkoku
> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: In episode 51 you can see the person on the bike playing the sound.  
---
## 1 answers
### Answer by username_2 on 2023-05-27. Score: 5 | Accepted answer
**It is *Charumera* tune, famously known to indicate the presence of *ramen* food car(t)**.

*Charumera* is a double-reeded musical instrument that originated from China, known as [*sunoa*](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suona), similar to the oboe. (Not to be confused with a ramen brand with the same name by Myojo/Nissin and a PS1 game with the same name). The name *charumera* itself was derived from the Portuguese word [*charamela*](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shawm), a similar but different musical instrument brought by them when they visited Japan during the beginning of the Edo period.

According to [Yamaha - Trivia : The charumera was the oboe's cousin](https://www.yamaha.com/en/musical_instrument_guide/oboe/trivia/trivia005.html)

> The charumera was a woodwind instrument that was played by people running ramen stands in the not-too-distant past.

According to [Archive.org - Charumera (PS1 Game)](https://archive.org/details/charumera_202002)

> the word “charumera” is actually derived from the Portuguese “charamela”, a type of flute that was brought to Japan around 400 years ago. This flute has traditionally been used by yatai (ramen mobile food stalls, [...]

According to [J A P A N o F I L E S # 8 – Chronicle of Starting a Shina Soba Shop](https://easternmind.tumblr.com/post/694414075295350784/charumera),

> The name ‘charumera’ refers to a double-reed woodwind instrument that is said to have derived from ‘charamela’ – Portuguese for shawm -, hinting at a possible introduction to the Japanese by way of Christian missionaries from that provenance sometime during the 16th century. The simplicity of the instrument made it popular among pushcart owners, not only because its sound signalled their impending arrival, but also due to the clever employment of signature melodies in what can only be described as a primordial manifestation of brand awareness. All these practices are exquisitely demonstrated in a [scene](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q5_jpPi4ltQ) from Yasujirō Ozu’s 1936 film Hitori Musuko (The Only Son). Needless to say, a viewing of the entire picture is most advised.

Some videos demonstrating the action:

* [リヤカー屋台ラーメン大統領　チャルメラの音](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z9dgsjsg_LI): a traditional ramen food cart with the real instrument (warning: loud sound)
* [Old Style Ramen Stall - Ramen Cart - Japanese Street Food](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JqCz5u4U9M4): a traditional ramen food cart with recorded sound (warning: loud sound at the beginning)
* [【チャルメラ】突然聞こえてきた懐かしのメロディー「屋台ラーメンが家の前を通りがかったよ」](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0_-qNhHXdnY): a modern ramen food car with recorded sound

---

Additional references:

* [Japanese Wikipedia - Charumera](https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E3%83%81%E3%83%A3%E3%83%AB%E3%83%A1%E3%83%A9)
* [Yahoo! Chiebukuro](https://detail.chiebukuro.yahoo.co.jp/qa/question_detail/q1135435371) (Japanese)
> **Comments:**
> **username_3** (2023-05-30): This famous ramen cart tune is also the first tune that Yui plays on Gitā in K-On!  
---
