Early years

Koichi Kawai was born in 1886 in the Japanese town, Hamamatsu. Koishi was the son of a wagon maker and early on, he began to show his own engineering skills.

One of the Kawai family’s neighbors, was a watchmaker and reed organ builder – his name was Torakusu Yamaha. One day, Yamaha was surprised to see his neighbor’s son riding by on a unique pedal-driven cart, the first ever to travel the roads of Hamamatsu. He was so impressed when he learned that the young boy had designed and built the cart by himself that he invited him to be his apprentice.

The next day, the invitation was accepted, and a dream was born… as the young man, Koichi Kawai, the son of a wagon maker, would set out to build his first piano.

Kawai became a member of the research and development team that introduced pianos to Japan. Torakusu Yamaha died in 1916, and in the 1920s the piano industry faltered in Japan. It was then, Kawai decided to build a company and a dream of his own - the Kawai Musical Instrument Research Laboratory was officially founded in 1927.

Next generation

After Koichi Kawai's death in 1955, his son, Shigeru Kawai became company president at 33 and expanded production facilities.

In 1960 Kawai joins the electronic world by releasing its first non-acoustic musical instruments – electronic organs.

In 1980, he opened the Ryuyo Grand Piano Factory, and shortly after, Kawais production of digital pianos started. Shigeru Kawai was president of the Kawai company from 1955 to 1989, chairman from 1990 until 2002, and a company consultant until his death in 2006 at 84.

Family Legacy

Shigeru Kawai's son, Hirotaka Kawai, was appointed president in 1989. He integrated advanced robotics into the manufacturing process, established Kawai manufacturing facilities around the globe, and oversaw the introduction of several new series of grand, upright, and digital pianos.

In 1999, Kawai introduced the Shigeru Kawai grand piano series. These pianos are handmade by highly skilled technicians in a separate facility of Ryuyo Grand Piano Factory. Shigeru Kawai pianos are recognized as one of the best pianos in the world and are used in concerts and piano competitions all over the world.

The Kawai Musical Instrument Manufacturing Company distributes acoustic and digital pianos to over 80 countries.

A never-ending quest for perfection sparked by the skills and dreams of one man, magnified by the vision and passion of his son, and advanced by the steadfast determination of his grandson. It is an illustrious heritage that finds its greatest fulfillment not in size and scope, but in quality and heart.