Sakamoto had been troubled about how so many musical instruments had been damaged in the quake and tsunami. “Oh no, you need music precisely at a time like this,” Mochida thought, as she continued coaching them in wind music and choral singing. Many students, however, were facing an inner struggle, wondering if it was appropriate to be dabbling in music at a difficult time like that. The school resumed its classes in a temporary school building following the disaster. Mochida, 59, said she remembers the disappointment on Sakamoto's face.īut she still felt she was being encouraged anew by the musician. He faced and played the mud-stained piano, which, however, only produced a muffled sound.Ī technician who accompanied Sakamoto decided the piano, which had been soaked in saltwater, was difficult to repair. Sakamoto clasped the hands of people including Atsuko Mochida, a music teacher who came to meet him, and told them, “Oh, your hands are so cold! You did so much to prepare for our visit!” The school staff somehow managed to haul the piano out onto the stage. The grand piano, which had been used on occasions including graduation ceremonies, remained buried in rubble and driftwood in a warehouse in the school’s gymnasium. He asked for an opportunity to repair the tsunami-stricken piano, an offer that surprised the school’s personnel. Ten months later, Sakamoto visited the Miyagi Prefecture Agriculture High School in the city of Natori. The building was rendered unusable by the tsunami spawned by the Great East Japan Earthquake in March 2011. SENDAI-World-renowned musician Ryuichi Sakamoto felt an irresistible pull to a damaged piano at a school building in the northeastern prefecture of Miyagi.
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