What the piano and diary say is August 17, 20:41

From this summer, a piano is on display in a corner of Hiroshima Peace Park. I cherished the girl who was a victim of the atomic bomb at the age of 19. It was a piano that I had been playing since I was little, such as enjoying playing double notes with my mother. A-bombed piano that has become a "quiet talker" now. And the diary of the girl who was left with him. There was the appearance of war that gradually took away the peaceful everyday life.
(Hiroshima Broadcasting Press, Yusuke Kita)

The surviving "exposed piano"

The "rest house" of the bombed building is located in a corner of Hiroshima Peace Park.

It has been used as a tourist information center in the city for many years, and was reopened to the public after a repair work in July this year.

Along with the renewal of this "rest house", it is the "exposed piano" that has survived the blast of the atomic bomb and will be exhibited in the cafe hall on the second floor.

A piano in a house about 2.5km from the hypocenter when the atomic bomb was dropped.
Countless scratches are left on the side, and the scattered glass fragments are still stuck.

The girl who grew up with a piano

Akiko Kawamoto, who was 19 at the time, loved the piano.

Born in the United States before the war, because of his father's work, he grew up with a piano, which was rare at the time.

I took this piano with me when I returned to Hiroshima at the age of six.
It was a time when Japan was deepening its isolation in the international community, such as withdrawing from the League of Nations.

"The creeping war" told by the diary

Akiko started writing a diary when she entered elementary school in Hiroshima.

The remaining Akiko's diary is 21 books written by the year before his death.
At the beginning, everything was katakana.

"When I returned from school today, I received Piyano's book."
" I will learn Piyano on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday."
(Diary when I was 7 years old in September 1948 )

At times, there are many descriptions about the piano, such as enjoying a double performance with a mother.
However, the calm daily life that the girl wrote changes drastically.
Since the start of the Sino-Japanese War in 1948, there have been many descriptions about the military along with the piano.

"Today was a scholarship society. I sang the songs of Piyano and the march, and the Patriotic March."
(Diary at the age of 11 March, 1933) 

Gradually, I started to work hard and air defense training, and my life became full of war.
Since the Pacific War began with the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1945, the diary has stopped talking about the piano.

When I was 18 years old, the words of a female student with strong patriotism were spelled out.

"The air raid warning sounded again. Don't feel jealous. We must re-energize."
(July 19, 19 when she was 18)

This is a passage written by Akiko-san at this time when the war situation was steadily worsening.

"Third quarter of my life has come, and I think that this year will be a meaningful year"
(Diary of New Year's Showa 19)

"I want to eat red tomatoes"

Then, August 6th, 1945, at 8:15am.
Atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima.

Akiko, who was mobilizing students, was exposed approximately 1 km from the hypocenter.
Akiko managed to reach her home, but the next day she took her breath with her parents.
It is believed to have been an acute symptom of the radiation of the atomic bomb.

He says the last word was "Mom, I want to eat red tomatoes".
Maybe I wanted to feel a little happiness by eating tomatoes with my family.

I didn't talk about my daughter

75 years have passed since the atomic bomb was dropped.
My parents and siblings had already died, and I couldn't find anyone who knew Akiko-san directly during this interview.

Akiko-san talked about the piano with Mr. Futakuchi and Miie (71), who was entrusted with the management of the piano by his relatives.

After the war, Mr. Futaku had a friendship with Akiko's parents who lived nearby after the war.
My parents didn't say about my deceased Akiko, but Ms. Futaku tells us a little about her Akiko's friends.

Tomiie Futakuchi:
“It seems that Akiko's parents were so affectionate that she had taken a gargle or cold medicine to school when she had a cold. What is the atomic bomb? I didn't even know what happened to me, but the sadness and regret of my parents, who lost the lives of their beloved children, was more than I could imagine, but I couldn't say it. Or

Inherit the wish for peace

One day, three weeks have passed since the exhibition of the atomic bombed piano started.
University students from Hiroshima City visited the rest house and played the piano with special permission.

Two songs such as "Ave Maria" were performed.

The recorded tones will be distributed worldwide via the Internet.
It was planned by Minoru Nakamura, a sophomore in college.

Minoru Nakamura
"I was shocked by the death of Akiko of the same generation. I want people to know the horror of atomic bombs and the importance of peace through the sounds of Akiko's piano. Music has the power. I hope that the people who hear it will be interested in it.''

Mr. Tomi Futakuchi
"If I could have young people think and act on "War and Peace" through Akiko, who was born in the United States and was sadly killed by the hands of the United States."

It has been 75 years since the bombing, and the average age of survivors has exceeded 83 years old, and the succession of the bombing experience through “real things” such as relics and buildings is becoming more important.
I felt that the piano and timbre left by a girl convey the reality of war and the value of peace over time.