Fumiaki Oomote plays instruments he made with marine debris. (Hikaru Uchida)

Photo/Illutration “Funengoni,” the musical instrument made by percussionist Fumiaki Oomote using marine debris in Mihama, Aichi Prefecture, on Nov. 7. (Hikaru Uchida)

NAGOYA--A musician here has turned marine debris into a harp-like instrument that he hopes will not only tug on the heartstrings of listeners, but also inspire people to rethink waste.

Fumiaki Oomote, 39, a Nagoya-based percussionist, used fishing line for the instrument's 12 strings, driftwood for the neck and a buoy and plastic sheet for the body, making the sounds resonate.

While most of the materials he used are waste he picked up at sea, the instrument is tuned perfectly, producing a clear sound.

Inspired by the Ngoni, a type of musical instrument in Africa, he named it the "Funengoni," which is derived from the word "funengomi," or noncombustible garbage in Japanese.

Oomote gives live shows and holds workshops for making instruments around the country, hoping to provide an opportunity for people to become more conscious of the issue of marine debris and plastics pollution.

He has made more than 10 instruments using debris from the sea, many of them inspired by folk musical instruments.

Among them is the "Marine balafon," a type of wooden xylophone with plastic bottles of various sizes set under the bars.

Another called "Rain plastic" has resin pellets, used as materials for plastic products, inside a 1.4-meter-long vinyl chloride pipe that makes the sound of rain.

"The instrument made with waste is no longer waste," said Oomote. "So, what is waste? I want to think about this with others by playing it and having them hear its sound."