KUMAMOTO -- The grand piano of Watari Elementary School in Kuma, Kumamoto Prefecture, submerged in muddy waters following torrential rain in the Kyushu region last July, was returned to the village Sunday after being restored in Fukushima Prefecture.
People from areas hit hard by the 1995 Great Hanshin Earthquake and the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake worked hard to restore the piano in time for the school's graduation ceremony on Tuesday.
The school's building and gymnasium were flooded due to the torrential rain, and the piano in the gym was covered in mud.
Hiroki Yamanaka, 32, who represents Move, a volunteer group in Amagasaki, Hyogo Prefecture, visited the village for relief activities and learned about the piano. Amagasaki is one of the areas damaged by Great Hanshin Earthquake. He then asked Hiroshi Endo, a 62-year-old piano tuner in Iwaki, Fukushima Prefecture, to breathe new life into the piano for the elementary school. Endo has restored pianos that were damaged in the 2011 disaster.
The piano was transported to Iwaki in November last year. Endo spent about three months cleaning it and conducting restoration work, such as replacing all the strings. The volunteer group raised money for the restoration work through crowdfunding.
On Sunday morning, the restored piano was delivered to the gymnasium at Isshochi Elementary School, where Watari Elementary School's temporary school building is located. A ceremony was held to celebrate the return of the piano on the same day, and Watari school students sang their school song and the choral piece "Believe."
"I'm glad that the piano came back," said Miu Hiate, a 12-year-old six-grader who will play the piano at the graduation ceremony. "I want to play the piano at the graduation ceremony also in hope of the village's reconstruction."
Yamanaka attended the ceremony. "I'm glad to hear the children's powerful singing voices," he said.
"I hope the piano will be used as it was before the disaster," Endo said.
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