A Shigeru Kawai piano is not defined by materials, craftsmanship, and design alone. It is an expression of artistry, shaped as much by emotion as by expertise. In the hands of a master artisan, every instrument becomes more than a finely built piano. It is given character, soul, and life.
Every component, every joint, and every subtle detail is shaped with exceptional care. This dedication gives each Shigeru Kawai piano an unmistakable presence, a living spirit that endures across generations. For its owner, it is far more than a musical instrument. It becomes a lifelong companion in the pursuit of artistic expression.
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Unrivaled Advancement
True artistry is never still. It continues to refine, progress and evolve, always reaching for a higher form of expression—just like Shigeru Kawai grand pianos.
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Unsurpassed Craftsmanship
Experience the passion for excellence that is deeply rooted in the heart of every Shigeru Kawai craftsman.
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Unparalleled Legacy
Learn more about the dream, passion, and legacy of Shigeru Kawai.
Key Features
Kigarashi Soundboards
Shigeru Kawai grand pianos features a hand-carved soundboard crafted from carefully selected, premium spruce. Using the traditional kigarashi aging process, the wood is allowed to mature slowly through time and nature alone until it reaches its natural balance. The result is a remarkably rich resonance with exceptional depth and character.
Shiko Seion Hammers
Shiko Seion hammers take their name from the Japanese expression for “ultimate voicing”. Crafted exclusively by Shigeru Kawai Master Piano Artisans, each hammer is shaped with exceptional care and pride. Without heat treatment or artificial hardeners, they are hand-pressed and individually voiced to achieve a beautifully balanced, richly musical tone.
Concert-Length Key Buttons
The key buttons of the Shigeru Concert Series are crafted from hardwood maple to enhance rigidity and support precise energy transfer. Their oversized design is engineered to maximize power, responsiveness, and tonal control.
Konsei Katagi Rim
The Konsei Katagi rim is crafted from a distinctive blend of carefully selected hardwoods, each chosen for its tonal character. Fine-pored woods bring brilliance, clarity, and projection, while denser, large-pored woods add warmth, richness, and depth. This sophisticated combination of contrasting hardwood structures has become a defining signature of Shigeru Kawai pianos and their beautifully resonant sound.
Stretcher Overlap Design
The Stretcher Over-Lap Integrated Design, known as SOLID, provides an exceptionally strong foundation. In this construction, Shigeru Kawai artisans hand-fit the pinblock to the plate, which is joined with an overlapping stretcher bar to form a unified structure firmly secured to the rim. This gives Shigeru Kawai grand pianos an outstanding strength and rigidity, supporting stable tuning and a clear, enduring tone.
Millennium III Action
The industry-acclaimed Millennium III Action is known for its advanced ABS-Carbon components, delivering fast repetition and impressive power with less effort. Combined with Kawai’s aluminum action rails, these parts are highly resistant to changes in temperature and humidity, helping to ensure a more stable, reliable, and responsive touch.
Extended Keysticks
Each keystick is extended to support effortless playing and deliver a more consistent touch from the front to the back of the key. On the Shigeru Kawai grand pianos, the keysticks are also designed with a taller profile for added strength, enhancing stability, control, and overall performance.
Concert Agraffes
The Concert Agraffes of the Shigeru Kawai grand pianos are individually machined from solid brass rods to ensure exceptional precision, following the same standard used in Kawai’s renowned EX Concert Grand Piano. This refined detail allows each string to be positioned with great accuracy, producing a tone that is clear, powerful, and beautifully focused.
Temaki Bass Strings
Temaki means “hand-wound”, a name that reflects the exceptional care behind this traditional technique. Each bass string is wound individually by hand in a meticulous process that requires time, patience, and precision. The result is a sound of remarkable richness, depth, and expressive character.
All-Spruce Beams
Spruce is highly valued for its exceptional ability to transmit and preserve sound energy, yet it is rarely used for structural components because of its premium cost. In Shigeru Kawai pianos, every back frame beam is crafted entirely from carefully selected, high-quality spruce, creating a foundation that supports both strength and tonal excellence.
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Discover the Shigeru Kawai Series
Every Shigeru Kawai grand piano is a singular expression of artistry, precision, and soul. From the concert presence of the SK-EX to the refined elegance of the SK-2, each model offers its own distinctive qualities. Explore the finishes, dimensions, weight, and features of the SK Series—and find the instrument that resonates most beautifully with you.
Every Shigeru Kawai grand piano is a singular expression of artistry, precision, and soul. From the concert presence of the SK-EX to the refined elegance of the SK-2, each model offers its own distinctive qualities. Explore the finishes, dimensions, weight, and features of the SK Series—and find the instrument that resonates most beautifully with you.
When the World Listens: The Sound of Shigeru Kawai at the Chopin Competition.
A UNIQUE VISIT
IT WAS SHIGERU KAWAI’S WISH THAT HIS HONOUR WOULD BE UPHELD AMONG ALL WHO ENTER INTO HIS LEGACY.
For this reason, every owner of a Shigeru Kawai piano is offered a special visit from a Kawai-approved piano technician.* As a gesture of appreciation, this service includes professional regulation, voicing, and tuning for those who have chosen Japan’s premier piano.
*Depending on market location.
A UNIQUE VISIT
It was Shigeru Kawai’s wish that his honour would be upheld among all who enter into his legacy.
For this reason, every owner of a Shigeru Kawai piano is offered a special visit from a Kawai-approved piano technician.* As a gesture of appreciation, this service includes professional regulation, voicing, and tuning for those who have chosen Japan’s premier piano.
*Depending on market location.
SEE WHAT RENOWNED PIANISTS HAVE TO SAY
Shigeru Kawai Artists
Mikhail Pletnev
Pianist, Composer and Conductor
Ewa Pobłocka
Pianist, Professor at the Fryderyk Chopin University of Music Professor at the Feliks Nowowiejski Academy of Music in Bydgoszcz
Can Çakmur
Turkish Pianist and Prize-Winning Classical Musician
Diana Yoffe
Artistic Director of International Music Festival in Malaga
Noriko Ogawa
Concert Pianist
Alexander Kobrin
Concert Pianist
Silvan Zingg
Pianist, Boogie Woogie & Blues Ambassador from Switzerland
Hyuk Lee
Concert Pianist
Alexander Gadjiev
Concert Pianist
JJ Jun Li Bui
Concert Pianist
David Bismuth
Classical Pianist
“The warm tone of the Shigeru Kawai grand piano and the soft touch of the keyboard allow the pianist to create a diverse palette of tonal colors. Cantabile and dolce are two terms that go hand in hand with Shigeru Kawai.”
– Alexander Gadjiev, Shigeru Kawai SK-5
The Story of Shigeru Kawai
Shigeru Kawai was born on July 28, 1922, in Japan’s Shizuoka Prefecture and began his journey in piano making in 1946. Although he was part of the Kawai family, he chose to learn the art of piano building from the ground up, working as a regular craftsman on the factory floor. His dedication was extraordinary. He spent long hours in the manufacturing area and sometimes even slept overnight in the factory. Later in life, he would often say, “Creating pianos was the greatest job I ever had!”
Koichi introduced Shigeru to the “methods of origin”, the traditional principles of building pianos entirely by hand. He would often remind him, “As long as you are building pianos, you should strive to build the finest ones in the world.” Shigeru listened closely to every word Koichi shared.
More than a century ago, in a modest workshop in Japan, Koichi Kawai began a remarkable journey. His vision was to create a piano that could one day be regarded as “the finest.”
One generation later, that vision lived on with great intensity in the heart of Shigeru Kawai. For Shigeru, it was more than a reflection of his heritage. It became his calling, a powerful source of purpose that shaped a lifetime dedicated to the pursuit of perfection.
In every Shigeru Kawai piano, one can sense not only his craftsmanship and devotion, but the story of his life.
Following the passing of Kawai founder Koichi Kawai in 1955, Shigeru Kawai became president of the company. Guided by his father’s ideals, he continued to nurture a deep love of music, encouraged technological progress, and founded the acclaimed Ryuyo Grand Piano Factory, regarded by many as one of the most advanced facilities of its kind.
In a quiet and peaceful area beside the energy of the factory, now known as the Shigeru Kawai Research & Development Laboratory, the Shigeru Kawai Grand Piano came to life. This instrument would become one of the clearest expressions of Shigeru’s vision, a piano he described as “his personal legacy to the piano world.”
Behind every Shigeru Kawai grand piano stands a tradition shaped by human hands, refined knowledge, and an uncompromising devotion to detail.
Since the founding of Kawai in Hamamatsu, Japan, in 1927, the company has pursued a clear ideal: to create instruments that unite technical excellence with the sensitivity of true craftsmanship. This philosophy was carried forward by Shigeru Kawai, son of founder Koichi Kawai, who became president of the company in 1955 and dedicated his life to advancing the art of piano making.
For Shigeru Kawai, a great piano could never be the result of engineering alone. It had to be shaped by experience, patience, and the trained ear of artisans who understand that every piece of wood, every hammer, every string, and every movement of the action contributes to the soul of the instrument.
This belief found its purest expression in the Ryuyo Grand Piano Factory, established in 1980 in Shizuoka Prefecture. Conceived as a place where tradition and innovation could work in harmony, Ryuyo became home to the master piano artisans responsible for creating the Shigeru Kawai Grand Piano.
Here, craftsmanship is not hurried. Materials are carefully selected, components are meticulously prepared, and each instrument is refined through countless stages of adjustment, regulation, tuning, and voicing. Every gesture serves a purpose. Every detail is considered. Every piano is given the time it needs to develop its individual character.
The result is an instrument that carries more than sound. A Shigeru Kawai grand embodies generations of knowledge, the discipline of master craftsmanship, and the quiet pursuit of perfection. It is a piano created not simply to be played, but to respond, to breathe, and to give voice to the deepest intentions of the artist.
Progress has always been part of Kawai’s identity. From its earliest years, the company was shaped by the belief that a piano should not remain unchanged, but should continue to evolve in response to the needs of musicians.
This spirit of advancement became especially important under the leadership of Shigeru Kawai. While deeply respectful of the traditions of piano making, he believed that true excellence also required openness to new ideas, new materials, and new ways of thinking. For him, innovation was never a departure from craftsmanship. It was a way to protect it, refine it, and carry it into the future.
Over the decades, Kawai became known for combining the sensitivity of Japanese piano building with a strong commitment to research and development. Engineers, designers, and piano artisans worked closely together to improve the stability, responsiveness, and expressive range of the instrument, always with the pianist at the center of the process.
The Shigeru Kawai Grand Piano grew from this philosophy. It reflects a culture in which progress is measured not by novelty alone, but by the ability to create a more natural connection between artist and instrument. Every advancement serves a musical purpose: to make the piano more responsive, more reliable, and more capable of translating intention into sound.
In this sense, unrivaled advancement is not simply a matter of technology. It is the result of generations of listening, learning, testing, and refining. It is a quiet, continuous pursuit of improvement, guided by the same goal that has shaped Kawai from the beginning: to create instruments that allow music to speak with greater depth, freedom, and truth.
Shigeru Kawai Grand Pianos embody the finest traditions of Japanese piano craftsmanship, combining carefully selected materials with exceptionally precise hand-built construction. Each instrument is completed by highly skilled Master Piano Artisans, who refine its touch, tone, and character to give every grand piano its own distinctive musical personality.
Master Piano Artisans are highly experienced piano builders and technicians within Kawai. They are responsible for the final tonal and technical refinement of each Shigeru Kawai instrument, giving every grand piano its own individual character.
The Shigeru Kawai series includes the SK 2, SK 3, SK 5, SK 6, SK 7, and SK EX models. Ranging from elegant salon grands to full concert grands, the series offers suitable instruments for private music rooms, studios, universities, concert halls and professional stages.
Shigeru Kawai represents the premium line within the Kawai grand piano range. Produced in especially limited numbers, each instrument is individually refined by experienced Master Piano Artisans. This creates a grand piano with exceptional tonal depth, dynamic range and, expressive power.
A Shigeru Kawai grand piano is the ideal choice for discerning pianists, professional musicians, music conservatoires, concert halls, studios, and private music enthusiasts.
The Shigeru Kawai series combines refined tonal quality, precise touch, and exceptional musical versatility. This makes it perfectly suited to anyone seeking a premium grand piano for artistic expression, professional performance, or personal musical fulfilment.
The Shigeru Kawai series includes models for different spaces and musical requirements. From an elegant premium grand piano for private music rooms to a concert grand for major stages, every Shigeru Kawai grand piano offers a distinctive combination of tonal quality, playing control, and expressive power.
SK-2: for private music rooms, smaller studios, and refined living spaces
SK-3: for private music rooms, studios, and teaching rooms
SK-5: for larger studios, music schools, and smaller concert halls
SK-6: for conservatoires, professional studios, and demanding stages
SK-7: for concert halls, universities, and professional performance spaces
SK-EX: concert grand piano for major stages, concert halls, and the highest professional requirements
Yes. The SK 2 and SK 3 models in particular can be an excellent choice for private music rooms. The right instrument depends on room size, acoustics, and personal tonal preferences. Expert advice and a personal trial play can help you find the Shigeru Kawai grand piano that best suits your space.
