Uji City has unveiled a special monument dedicated to the Kyoto Animation (KyoAni) staff who died in the 2019 studio arson attack. The installation was unveiled at the Green Tea Historical Park and Uji Town on July 13, during a ceremony attended by bereaved families and stakeholders, and then opened to the public. The three-meter-high monument features 36 birds, representing the victims, symbolizing “endless dreams spread through animation” and “an unbroken flight to the future.” The statue is decorated with the words “Dreams and passions from one person to another.”
It was created by students at Tokyo University of the Arts and funded in part by donations from Japan and overseas following the incident. After the unveiling, a message from company employees was read, and Kyoto Animation president Hideaki Hatta presented Uji Mayor Atsuko Matsumura with a document marking the donation of the monument to Uji.
The monument, created by the victims' families, Kyoto Animation and their supporters, is intended as a symbol of peace that connects all those affected by the incident: those who lost their lives and those who sent prayers and support from around the world. The monument is not a traditional memorial, and the town of Uji has asked visitors not to leave offerings but to use it as a way to remember.
The monument was erected ahead of the fifth anniversary of the arson attack on Kyoto Animation's Studio 1 building in Kyoto's Fushimi Ward on July 18, 2019. In addition to the 36 KyoAni individuals killed, 34 people (including the arsonist, who was sentenced to death last year) were injured.
Hatta revealed in 2019 that the studio wanted to build a memorial on the site of the old building. However, that plan was not well received by city officials, who were concerned that the memorial would attract too many visitors to the quiet residential area. The Green Tea Historical Park and Uji Town are the first of two planned memorials. Earlier this year, Sound Euphonium! Season 3 viewers pointed out that the anime's production team appeared to include their deceased colleagues in the audience during the season's final episode.
Source: Comic Natalie, Yomiuri Shimbun
Featured Image: Violet Evergarden, © Akatsuki Kana , Kyoto Animation/Violet Evergarden Production Committee
