Among the many sounds emanating from the Tokyo Make Meeting 05 this past weekend was the unusually shaped electronic instrument, the Uda. It's played with two hands, and looks like it might be a less-flexible cousin of the accordion. Notes are played by pressing different sections of a rope that's coiled around the device, on both the right and left sides. Exactly where you touch it determines the pitch, and there's a one octave difference between one row of rope and the adjacent row.
The Uda shares it's name with the instrument's creator, Uda-san. He has included some foam grips and curly wires to either end, supposedly in an effort to make it more comfortable to hold. Data is output in midi format, and while technically Uda-san could make his instrument send out any number of sounds, thankfully he has stuck with a very pleasant flute-like tone.
While there are no immediate plans to sell or set a price for the Uda, it seems that later down the road this device may be available for purchase over the net according to the sites Q&A (Japanese).
For those of you who want to hear how it sounds, check out the video below where Uda-san plays Pachelbel's Canon in D Major. It's quite impressive!