ABOUT SHIGERU KAWAI
UNPARALLELED LEGACY | UNCOMMON COMMITMENT
LIFELONG COMMITMENT TO BUILDING THE FINEST PIANOS IN THE WORLD
UNCOMMON COMMITMENT
Shigeru Kawai was born on July 28, 1922 in the Shizuoka Prefecture of Japan. He entered the piano business as a young man in 1946. Although he was a member of the Kawai family, Shigeru spent his early years learning the piano building process as a regular worker. He put in long hours laboring diligently in the manufacturing area, sometimes sleeping overnight in the factory as an expression of his dedication to the craft. He loved the work so much that, in later life, he would often remark, “Creating pianos was the greatest job I ever had!”
After three years of training in all areas of the piano building process, Shigeru began the next important phase of his apprenticeship—studying the art of piano design from his father, Koichi Kawai. Koichi was known as “Hatsumei Koichi” (Koichi the Inventor), an innovative genius who was revered as the first person in Japan to design and build a complete piano action. In later life, Koichi would receive the coveted “Blue Ribbon Medal” from the Emperor of Japan for his accomplishments.
Koichi taught Shigeru the “methods of origin” by which pianos are built entirely by hand. He would often say, “As long as you are building pianos, you should strive to build the finest ones in the world.” Shigeru listened attentively to Koichi’s every word.
It was with great sadness and resolve that Shigeru Kawai assumed leadership of the company upon the passing of Koichi Kawai in 1955. Although Shigeru was only 33 years old, he proved to be a visionary.
He soon launched the Kawai Concert Series to introduce western music to the Japanese people. Later, he built scores of Kawai Music Schools across Japan and founded an educational institute to train the teachers who would staff those schools.
Concurrently, he established the Kawai Technical Institute to provide the technicians needed to care for pianos at home and abroad. By the 1970s, he had taken Kawai pianos to over 80 countries around the globe.
In 1980, Shigeru completed one of his greatest achievements—the Ryuyo Grand Piano Factory, one of the most advanced piano building facilities ever created.
Today, Ryuyo is not only a place for manufacturing but also a place for innovation. The Shigeru Kawai Research and Development Laboratory at Ryuyo stands as a tribute to the founder’s vision of continual excellence and is staffed by Master Piano Artisans dedicated to the never-ending advancement of the piano art form.
After over 50 years of intense striving, Shigeru desired to leave a personal legacy to the piano world.
In the year 2000, he introduced a unique line of instruments that would bear his name. While the use of one’s first and last name is extremely rare in Japan because of the incredible burden of responsibility it places upon the individual, Shigeru inaugurated these instruments as the Shigeru Kawai Grand Pianos – enduring symbols of his fervent passion for the piano and his lifelong commitment to building the finest pianos in the world.
PRESTIGIOUS CERTIFICATION FOR EXCELLENCE IN ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT
RESPONSIBILITY
Caring for the planet comes naturally to those who create the Shigeru Kawai pianos. In 1997, our Ryuyo Grand Piano Factory became the first in the piano industry to receive ISO14001, the world’s most prestigious certification for excellence in environmental management. Work groups continuously monitor and improve emissions and waste control, green procurement, and a host of other energy conservation and environmental protection measures. The Kawai Forest Project has already planted over 350,000 seedlings with a goal to have over 500,000 new trees planted by the end of the decade. These vital efforts will continue to be a part of every piano we build. That is our promise to you—and to our world.
SHIGERU KAWAI MODELS
Explore SK Grand Pianos
A Shigeru Kawai piano is much more than the intelligent application of material, labor and design. It is an art form born not from the head, but from the heart. Thus, the craftsman does far more than simply “build” it—he brings it to life.
The sensitive nurturing of every part, every joint, every subtle nuance vests each piano with an intangible quality—a soul—that lives on from generation to generation. And those who own a Shigeru piano know that they possess not merely an instrument, but a partner in the musical pursuit of dreams.
