Families struggle with sadness 1 year after KyoAni arson attack

Naomi Ishida's room is seen as morning arrives on July 4 in Fushimi Ward, Kyoto. The television, which turns on itself, softly illuminates the room along with light from the window. A case of 500 colored pencils is displayed on the windowsill. Her mother said that she noticed her daughter was using the television, which comes on at a fixed time Monday through Saturday, as an alarm to wake up. (Credit: The Yomiuri Shimbun)

On Saturday, it will be one year since the arson attack at the Kyoto Animation Co. studio, in which 36 people were killed.

At 7 a.m., a television turns on automatically in the room of Naomi Ishida, who was 49 when she was killed in the attack.

Ishida was in charge of color design for anime such as "The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya." The television still turns on, signaling the arrival of the morning even now that the room's occupant is gone.

A blackboard in an old elementary school building in Toyosato, Shiga Prefecture, is filled with messages from fans, in this photo taken on July 2. A man in his 20s who came from Fukuoka Prefecture, said: "One year goes by fast. It was a tragic incident. Many KyoAni works are very warm, and I'm sure the people who made them were also warm-hearted people." (Credit: The Yomiuri Shimbun)

Ishida was probably using the TV as an alarm clock. When her 79-year-old mother hears its sound in the morning she is reminded that her daughter was waking up around that time. She said that she somehow senses her daughter's presence when the television timer is activated.

Ishida's mother said she will never forget the sight of her daughter's back when she saw her off as usual that morning. Her daughter was carrying a red lunchbox with her. "I'm still sad. I think I'll feel like this until the day I die," she said.

Mikiko Watanabe was also killed in the arson attack at the age of 35. She was a lecturer at a professional training school, too. After the incident, Watanabe's mother began displaying posters and pictures of her work all over the house, saying, "I want to feel my daughter."

Various paintings and posters are displayed all over the house of Mikiko Watanabe's parents, including the entrance and stairs, in this photo take on June 22. There is an illustration created by Watanabe for New Year's greeting cards, and a poster for anime "Kyokai no Kanata," for which she served as art director. (Credit: The Yomiuri Shimbun)

She said that her daughter had liked drawing since she was very young. She was opposed to her daughter's desire to pursue a career in painting, but after she graduated from college, she respected her daughter's strong will and decided to back her. "I hope that the world will become a kinder place where people do not hurt each other," Watanabe's mother said.

Places associated with the works of Kyoto Animation are considered sacred among fans. An old building that used to be an elementary school in Toyosato, Shiga Prefecture, is considered to be the setting of anime "K-ON!" A coffee shop called Bagpipe in Takayama, Gifu Prefecture, is believed to be associated with another anime, "Hyouka." When fans visit these places they write messages on blackboards and in notebooks located there. In a message for "Hyouka" on June 22, a fan wrote, "The incident will be etched with sad memories, but the brilliance of the work will live on forever."

Naomi Ishida's lunchbox is photographed on June 29. The lunchbox was returned to her mother by police as a memento and was in good condition. Ishida's mother said that she went shopping with her daughter in May last year to buy it. Her mother had been making lunch for her daughter since she was very young, before this habit came to an abrupt end. (Credit: The Yomiuri Shimbun)

Various messages are written along with illustrations on notebooks used for interactions between customers at coffee shop Bagpipe in Takayama, Gifu Prefecture, in this photo taken on July 5. The coffee shop is said to have appeared in "Hyouka." Fans from China and other countries also visit the shop. "Hope to continue to create works that will be loved by many people," a message said. (Credit: The Yomiuri Shimbun)

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