A Japanese musician has cancelled performances at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe after a trumpet and melodica she inherited from her late father were stolen from the venue where she was performing. Sachie Mikawa, 48, said the instruments were among the only possessions to survive the 2011 Tōhoku tsunami and represented her last physical connection to her father, who died last year. The theft has already forced her to cancel two shows, and she says she does not know whether she can complete the rest of her run.
The instruments went missing from the Rotunda Theatre at George Heriot's School, where Mikawa was performing her musical comedy Egg: The Biggest Unborn Artist. The venue said the items were taken on Monday alongside six laptops, an iPad and other technology equipment. Police Scotland confirmed it had received a report of the incident.
What exactly was stolen, and when did it happen?
According to a national broadcaster's report, police believe the theft took place overnight between Monday, 10 August and Tuesday, 11 August 2026, and that enquiries remain at an early stage. Separately, Edinburgh News identified the stolen trumpet as a Bach Stradivarius Bb model, serial number S180ML37, along with its distinctive case, and the melodica as a vintage Hohner instrument no longer manufactured. The same report said the venue had been told the case was not treated as an ongoing incident by police and was therefore not considered a priority for investigation.
Mikawa, who now lives in London with her partner, said the trumpet was one of the only items to survive the magnitude-9.0 earthquake and resulting tsunami that struck parts of Japan in 2011, with waves reaching up to 132 feet (40 metres).
"My dad gifted me the trumpet when I was sixteen."
"It was the only thing I had left connected to him and the only thing that survived."
"In the tsunami we lost everything, all my childhood memories, toys and photos were gone."
How long has the trumpet been part of her life?
Mikawa has said the trumpet travelled with her for 32 years and that she used it during her first performance as a clown in 2005. However, Edinburgh News reported that she first built an act around the instrument roughly 20 years ago, and that she relocated to London around six months before the theft, details that sit alongside her account of carrying the instrument since she was sixteen.
"I had carried that trumpet for 32 years, it came all over the world with me and I used it during my first performance as a clown in 2005."
"I have performed at festivals everywhere and nothing like this has ever happened before. I am heartbroken."
"The instruments had massive sentimental value to me. They were both gifted to me by my dad who passed away this week last year."
How is Mikawa affected personally and professionally?
Mikawa said the theft compounded an already painful period, coming almost exactly a year after her father's death and following the loss of both her parents within twelve months of each other. She had hoped her Fringe run, her first performance in around two years, would mark a return to the stage after a difficult stretch away from it.
"I have had a really difficult two years. After losing my parents I found it really hard to perform and this was supposed to be my comeback."
"It has been my first time performing in about two years. It was supposed to be a chance to find joy again on stage."
"Before this happened things were going great. The audiences were beautiful, so supportive and warm, then I woke up to the email informing me things had been stolen."
She appealed to members of the public to look out for her belongings, which carry egg stickers linked to her show, though she said she believes her Fringe run for this year is effectively over.
"Even if I can replace the instruments, I don't know if I will be able to perform. I am just heartbroken."
"I have thought about borrowing the instruments but I just don't think I am emotionally there."
"This is my livelihood and they have taken it away. It's already difficult to be a performer, especially over the last couple of years."
"I just don't know who would do something like this."
The loss carries particular weight given the scale of the event she was appearing at. The Edinburgh Festival Fringe is widely regarded as the world's largest arts festival, and Mikawa's scheduled run at the venue had been due to continue until 16 August 2026.
Have similar thefts of sentimental items happened before?
The case echoes an earlier appeal this year involving the family of Richard Wild, a journalist killed in Iraq in 2003, whose kilt and sporran were stolen in Newcastle. In that instance, Wild's nephew Alexander Curtis, who had worn the regalia while playing bagpipes, described his devastation at the loss of items with deep family significance, a parallel to Mikawa's account of losing objects that connected her to a parent who had died.
What has Police Scotland said, and what happens next?
A Police Scotland spokesperson said officers had not yet taken a formal statement and so could not confirm precisely which items had been reported stolen.
"We have received a report of theft from the Lauriston Place area of Edinburgh which is believed to have taken place overnight from Monday, 10 August into Tuesday, 11 August, 2026."
"Enquiries are at an early stage."
According to Edinburgh News, officers are expected to meet Mikawa on Friday to take her statement, which should clarify the full list of stolen items and the direction of the investigation.
Key Facts
- Sachie Mikawa, 48, had her trumpet and melodica stolen from the Rotunda Theatre at George Heriot's School during the Edinburgh Fringe.
- The theft, which also included six laptops and an iPad, is believed to have occurred overnight from 10 to 11 August 2026.
- The trumpet was identified as a Bach Stradivarius Bb model (serial S180ML37); the melodica was a discontinued vintage Hohner instrument.
- Both instruments were gifts from Mikawa's late father and had survived the 2011 Tōhoku tsunami.
- Police are due to meet Mikawa on Friday to take a formal statement as enquiries continue.
