JAPAN: Piano recovered from atomic bomb blast becomes symbol for peace at memorial concert

Record ID: 231779

  • Title: JAPAN: Piano recovered from atomic bomb blast becomes symbol for peace at memorial concert
  • Date: 10th August 2009
  • Summary: SOUNDBITE (JAPANESE) KENSAKU TANIKAWA, COMPOSER AND PIANIST, SAYING: "The piano sounds so good that it is hard to imagine that it was damaged by an atomic bomb." AUDIENCE INSPECTING PIANO DURING INTERMISSION
  • Embargoed: 25th August 2009 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Japan
  • Country: Japan
  • Topics: Lifestyle
  • Reuters ID: LVA58R32KO7B1NEE7JT6WIK5S7F3
  • Story Text: At a concert to mark the 64th anniversary of the bombing of Nagasaki, an irradiated piano recovered from the Hiroshima blast becomes a symbol for peace.
    The Tokyo Women's Plaza Concert Hall had standing-room only on Sunday (August 9) during a memorial concert to mark the 64th anniversary of the atomic bombing of Nagasaki.
    A showcase of performers took the stage, making offerings of music, drama and song to honor the memories of the men and women who died. While all the performances moved the audience, it was a 77-year-old, upright piano that stole the spotlight.
    The 1932 Yamaha piano that accompanied the student vocalists bears the scars of a violent past.
    When the United States dropped an atomic bomb on the city of Hiroshima on August 6, 1945, the piano was in the blast radius and exposed to radiation.
    It still retains extremely low levels of radiation and shards of glass remain forever embedded in the black laquer paint.
    "During the bombing of Hiroshima, everything within two kilometers from ground zero was burned and destroyed. This piano was within that boundary and miraculously survived," said Mitsunori Yagawa, a Hiroshima-native who restored the piano.
    As the owner of the Yagawa Instrument Tuning Center, he managed to resurrect the piano's original timbre.
    Because Yagawa's father was exposed to radiation during the bombing of Hiroshima, he was inspired to organize peace concerts with the piano.
    He held the first concert in Hiroshima's Peace Memorial Park in 2000.
    Since then, the piano and Yagawa have toured throughout Japan and performed concerts before thousands of people and become a symbol of peace and the anti-war movement.
    Before each concert, Yagawa carefully tunes the piano to ensure that the instrument strikes the right notes with the audience.
    At Sunday's concert, acclaimed composer and pianist Kansaku Tanikawa took to the tarnished, ivory keys for a moving performance. He marveled at the quality of the piano's sound.
    "The piano sounds so good that it is hard to imagine that it was damaged by an atomic bomb," Tanikawa said.
    For some audience members, the concert experience was an emotional one.
    "When I see items from wartime, like this piano, I realize that it was a big tragedy for us," said Mieko Murayama, 65, a concert goer who was only an infant at the time of the bombings.
    Yagawa hopes to reach new audiences in the coming year.
    He plans to bring the piano to New York City for a peace concert to commemorate the ninth anniversary of the September 11 attacks.
    At a time when fears of nuclear proliferation remain high, and the remaining survivors of the atomic blasts become fewer, the piano serves as an enduring symbol of peace and a timeless artifact from one of the darkest moments in Japanese history.
    Organizers hope that the piano will inspire younger generations to learn about the past and protect the future.
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