When the atomic bomb devastated Hiroshima, few objects near the blast site remained intact. Among the relics that serve as enduring reminders of the devastation caused by nuclear weapons is a piano that once belonged to a teenage girl who lost her life in the attack.
Kawamoto Akiko was born in Los Angeles in 1926. In 1933, her family relocated to Hiroshima, taking their cherished piano with them.
On August 6, 1945, when the United States dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Kawamoto was just 800 meters from the epicenter. She succumbed to her injuries the following day, at the age of 19.
Though the piano was damaged by flying glass, it largely survived the blast. Today, it is used for educational purposes and featured in special performances.
In 2022, the story of the piano inspired two German playwrights, Heike Tauch and Florian Goldberg, to create a stage production titled “Borrowed Landscape,” which focuses on musicians reflecting on instruments tied to those affected by World War Two.
“While researching instruments with historical significance, we encountered Kawamoto’s piano and were deeply moved by its story,” Goldberg explains.
The production premiered on German public radio and was later adapted into a stage play in New York in 2023.
“Given the catastrophe that Germany inflicted upon the world during the Nazi regime, we, as German artists and intellectuals, have grown up understanding the importance of closely examining history to prevent its repetition,” says Goldberg.
Plans are underway to bring the play to Hiroshima for the 80th anniversary of the bombing next year.
Hagiwara Mami, a pianist whose grandparents survived the Hiroshima attack, is set to perform on Kawamoto’s piano.
“I feel it’s my life’s mission to play her piano,” Hagiwara reflects. “I believe I can communicate many emotions through the sound of that instrument.”
Tragically, one of the playwrights, Heike Tauch, recently passed away after battling cancer and will not witness the play’s debut in Japan.
She had expressed that the piano should not merely be viewed as a historical artifact: “At this very moment, many Akikos are likely dying in Ukraine, Gaza, and Israel without the world taking notice.”
