Today we
return to a story that touched the hearts of thousands in 2018. In
Miyagi Prefecture, Yuko Tanno, a mother who is not a fan of manga, continued to
buy Weekly Shonen Jump magazine every week for seven
years after losing her son Kota in the Great Japan Earthquake of 2011. Kota, who was only 13 years
old at the time of his death, was a huge fan of the magazine and manga such as
“One Piece” and “Haikyu!!”. Since then, Yuko kept alive the tradition
that her son loved, buying each new issue for him in the hope that, had he been
alive, he would have continued to enjoy these stories.
When her
son passed away, Yuko placed copies of Weekly Shonen Jump in his coffin and on
the family altar. She then realized that she couldn't just throw them away,
like she had done with Kota's manga before. So, she continued to buy the
magazine every week, even when she couldn't find it in nearby stores. Despite
all this, the collection of Weekly Shonen Jump magazines began to pile up, and
by the time the news went viral, it had already accumulated over 350 issues.
In 2018,
the year her news started trending, Kota would have turned 20, which was then
the legal age of majority in Japan (before it was lowered to 18 some time later) , Yuko
decided that would be the year she would complete the collection of Weekly
Shonen Jump issues for her son. (since he was missing some issues and
had to order them separately or buy them second-hand), in a symbolic act that
represented her eternal love and desire to keep his memory alive.
And of
course, the situation did not go unnoticed in the comment forums:
- « 7 years and 3 months
ago, where would One Piece be? Would it be in Skypiea? »
- « My father is 62 years
old and still buys Shonen
Jump , Magazine and Sunday magazines every week every
week ».
- « I stopped reading
manga when I was in second year of high school, but I can imagine what
this mother must feel ."
- « I wish Shonen
Jump had made a monthly issue for her .»
- « It's sad
that One Piece can't continue using some characters after the
tsunami .»
- " For a parent,
these things must be impossible to throw away, I understand that ."
- « How cute. I was
a Shonen Jump crazy kid too , so if my mom had done that for me,
I would have been very grateful . »
- " It's
understandable, if I were an only child, I would have done something
similar too ."
- « My mother also kept
buying Shonen Jump every week when I was on an exchange in
Canada. I realized how much she loved me .»
- " I'm glad the
mother was able to find something that gives her peace. ."
- « This is a good way to
find some comfort, it is an emotional ritual ."
- "It's amazing what
you do for your son, even though he's gone. Something so simple can bring
some peace ."
Source: Yaraon!
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