Akiko’s piano
A-bombed piano that quietly conveys its history
An upright piano made in the U.S., belonging to a female student who died in the atomic bombing of Hiroshima. After restoration, its beautiful tone was revived at a concert held 60 years after the atomic bombing. The Rest House has positioned it as a “precious A-bombed artifact that conveys the events of that day” and has put it on permanent display to convey the tragedy of the atomic bombing.
Akiko Kawamoto was born in Los Angeles, U.S. in 1926. After moving to Hiroshima, she was exposed to the atomic bomb on August 6, 1945, about 1 km from the hypocenter and died the next day.
The late Peter Serkin, an American pianist, playing “Akiko’s Piano”. The piano was exposed to the atomic bombing at the Kawamoto family home in Mitaki-cho, Nishi Ward, Hiroshima (about 2.5 km from the hypocenter). On one side of the piano it still bears scars from shards of glass and other objects that were blown into it by the blast. The HOPE Project, an NPO, is restoring and managing it to this day.
It is restored and managed by the general incorporated association “HOPE Project”.
A wall with scars left by glass fragments blown by the blast.
