A picture of Aiko Ueda, left, and her younger sister Saiko, is seen at their mother's house in Tokyo's Toshima Ward on Aug. 26, 2021. (Mainichi/Maki Kihara)

       TOKYO -- Clothes, bags, rings and necklaces were among the belongings finally cleaned out this spring by a mother to two young women who died in a 2001 multi-tenant building fire in the Kabukicho area of the capital's Shinjuku Ward.

       Yasuko Ueda, 69, who lives in Tokyo's Toshima Ward, said that as part of her end-of-life plan she decided to throw out her daughters Aiko and Saiko's belongings -- aged 26 and 22 respectively at the time -- kept at home for the 20 years since the incident, while she is "still able to move." "Even if their belongings are gone, their memories won't disappear," Ueda told herself.

       On the evening of Aug. 31, Ueda visited the site of the September 2001 fire where 44 people died. A new building is there now. Although Ueda used to offer two bouquets every year, she offered 44 flowers this year in consideration of the many bereaved families unable to visit due to the coronavirus pandemic.

       "They were very close sisters. I still think they'll come back home one day and say, 'Mom, I'm hungry,'" Ueda spoke in front of a picture at home of both girls smiling.

       Flowers offered to the victims of a fire that broke out in a multi-tenant building in the Kabukicho area of the capital's Shinjuku Ward 20 years ago is seen in this Aug. 31, 2021, photo. (Mainichi/Kimi Takeuchi)

       "The building where Ai-chan and Sai-chan are is on fire," a friend watching the news said, calling Ueda before dawn on Sept. 1, 2001. She quickly turned on the TV to see a building burning intensely and people on stretchers. She called her daughters repeatedly; eventually a firefighter picked up and gave her vague information about the situation. She went to the morgue, where she saw her daughters.

       Because her daughters loved fashion, Ueda placed in their coffins a light cream-colored kimono she helped Aiko wear many times on her first shrine visit of the year and other occasions, and Saiko's favorite navy Kurume Gasuri woven clothes.

       For about half a year after the incident, Ueda couldn't come to terms with reality. She even sat in front of her daughters' picture and shouted, "Why did you have to die?" Ueda said she felt like dying at one point. Communicating with other bereaved families saved her.

       She received other bereaved families' contact information from others, and talked to them on the phone for hours on end. Ueda eventually came to think that her daughters would be sad if she died, and that she must live in the present. Though the pain will never disappear, she has gradually become able to actively engage with life.

       A coin purse used by Aiko Ueda and a long wallet used by her younger sister Saiko, which their mother decided to hold onto as keepsakes, are seen in this photo taken in Tokyo's Toshima Ward on Aug. 26, 2021. (Mainichi/Maki Kihara)

       Because Ueda and her husband both worked, the sisters would take care of their brother eight years younger than Saiko. Aiko was like an older sister to others, too. She would bring home her junior at work, who had trouble making a living, and ask Ueda to give them food and a bath. Saiko had a straightforward personality with many friends and who could interact with anyone.

       Even now, Ueda offers their favorite tea every morning, and says, "I'll do my best today, so please watch over me."

       Ueda stopped many times when going through her daughters' belongings including the clothes, bags and accessories she carefully kept at home. Every one of them reminded her of Aiko and Saiko and brought tears to her eyes. After three months decluttering, over 20 cardboard boxes containing her daughters' belongings left home. Ueda decided to hold onto the brand-name wallet and coin purse her daughters used as keepsakes.

       The Metropolitan Police Department highly suspects the fire was caused by arson. Ueda said, "If there is a culprit, I want them to come forward, so I can report it to my daughters while I'm alive. That's my greatest wish."

       (Japanese original by Maki Kihara, Tokyo City News Department)

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