Japan's telecommunications industry was launched in 1869, the second year of the Meiji era (1868-1912). Services have been provided by the Ministry of Communications, then by the Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Public Corporation and finally by the current NTT group, widening over the years to include telegrams, telephones, faxes and the internet.
The NTT History Center of Technologies in Musashino, Tokyo, presents the history and technology of the telecommunications industry through about 1,500 items on display.
On the right-hand side of the spacious lobby, you'll find two Delville-type magnetic wall telephones that came into use in 1896. Between the two antique telephones, there's a hand-operated magnetic switchboard that was introduced in 1890, when Japan's first telephone line was installed connecting Tokyo and Yokohama. All the machines were re-created using parts dating back through the years.
In addition to transmitting their voice, visitors can also experience what it was like to be an operator in the days when the telephone lines of callers and receivers had to be manually connected.
In a nearby corner, there is a replica of a list of telephone numbers from December 1890. It includes prominent people from the Meiji era, including Eiichi Shibusawa at telephone number 158, Shigenobu Okuma at 177 and Hisoka Maejima at 248.
The museum also traces the history of phototelegraphy, which was put into practical use in many countries around the world in the early years of the 20th century. On the first basement level, there is an NE-type phototelegraphy machine -- this was Japan's first domestically manufactured model, made to compete with foreign products.
A newspaper company used a phototelegraphy machine to transmit photographs of Emperor Showa's coronation from Kyoto to Tokyo in November 1928, and was able to quickly feature the photos in its newspaper.
Returning to the first floor and venturing more deeply into the museum, visitors will find a white telephone set with an antenna and push-button digits inside a transparent case. This "wireless telephone" was the first mobile phone, and was exhibited at the Osaka Expo in 1970 by the then Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Public Corporation.
During the expo, about 650,000 people used it to call locations all over the nation.
Visitors at the museum are next guided to a zone exhibiting contemporary technologies. In a far corner on the second floor is the base material for fiber-optic cables, which are essential for the internet. It's a glass column about two meters tall, about 18 centimeters in diameter, and weighs about 100 kilograms.
It's surprising to hear that this kind of material is extended into fiber-optic cables about 2,000 kilometers long.
"We present the technologies that led to today's technology, so visitors can enjoy this place repeatedly," said Haruhisa Nozue, 39, who engages in management of the center.
-- The NTT History Center of Technologies
The NTT History Center of Technologies opened in November 2000. Mainly focusing on the history in the half-century after the establishment of the Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Public Corporation, it exhibits historic items related to technological developments in the telecommunications business. Guided tours are available for visitors with reservations. Science lecture events for children are held during the school summer holidays.
Access: About 15 minutes on foot from the south gate of Higashifushimi Station on the Seibu Shinjuku Line, or about a 10-minute bus ride from JR Mitaka Station.
Address: 3-9-11 Midoricho, Musashino, Tokyo
Opening hours: 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. on Thursdays and Fridays. (Closed if those days are public holidays)
Admission: Free
Telephone inquiries: 0422-59-3311
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