Ayano completed her studies in German [[philology]] in Japan at [[Okayama University]] and came to the [[University of Trier]] in 1981 as a [[Rotary International|Rotary]] scholarship recipient to pursue her doctorate under Professor Hermann Gelhaus.<ref name=”okauniv”>{{cite web|url=https://www.sgu.ccsv.okayama-u.ac.jp/en/news/600.html|title=President of Trier University, Germany, Pays a Courtesy Visit to President Makino|publisher=[[Okayama University]]|date=October 28, 2019|access-date=November 5, 2025}}</ref><ref name=”trieruniv”>{{cite web|url=http://www.uni-trier.de/index.php?id=14187&tx_ttnews%5Btt_news%5D=15684&tx_ttnews%5BbackPid%5D=48|title=30 Jahre nach Mord: Gedenken an Mutsuko Ayano, Die japanische Studentin wurde in Trier Opfer eines Raubüberfalls |language=de|trans-title=30 years after the murder: Remembering Mutsuko Ayano The Japanese student was the victim of a robbery in Trier|publisher=[[University of Trier]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131203050014/http://www.uni-trier.de/index.php?id=14187&tx_ttnews%5Btt_news%5D=15684&tx_ttnews%5BbackPid%5D=48|date=November 12, 2013|archive-date=December 3, 2013|access-date=November 5, 2025}}</ref> She was considered a diligent and gifted student. In letters to her parents, she wrote about life in Germany, the differences between it and Japan, and her love of the German language. A selection of these letters was published in German translation in 1987 and reissued a few years later in a small booklet.<ref name=”trieruniv”/> A new edition of these letters was published by Iudicium Verlag in 2020.<ref>{{cite book|year=2020|first1= Hilaria |last1=Gössmann|first2=Maren |last2=Haufs-Brusberg|title=”als hättest du ein Stück Japan eingepackt”. Briefe von Ayano Mutsuko aus ihrer Studienzeit in Deutschland|trans-title=”As if you had packed a piece of Japan with you.” Letters from Ayano Mutsuko during her studies in Germany|language=de|publisher=Iudicium|location=Munich|isbn=9783862055319|pages=1-154}}</ref>
Ayano completed her studies in German [[philology]] in Japan at [[Okayama University]] and came to the [[University of Trier]] in 1981 as a [[Rotary International|Rotary]] scholarship recipient to pursue her doctorate under Professor Hermann Gelhaus.<ref name=”okauniv”>{{cite web|url=https://www.sgu.ccsv.okayama-u.ac.jp/en/news/600.html|title=President of Trier University, Germany, Pays a Courtesy Visit to President Makino|publisher=[[Okayama University]]|date=October 28, 2019|access-date=November 5, 2025}}</ref><ref name=”trieruniv”>{{cite web|url=http://www.uni-trier.de/index.php?id=14187&tx_ttnews%5Btt_news%5D=15684&tx_ttnews%5BbackPid%5D=48|title=30 Jahre nach Mord: Gedenken an Mutsuko Ayano, Die japanische Studentin wurde in Trier Opfer eines Raubüberfalls |language=de|trans-title=30 years after the murder: Remembering Mutsuko Ayano The Japanese student was the victim of a robbery in Trier|publisher=[[University of Trier]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131203050014/http://www.uni-trier.de/index.php?id=14187&tx_ttnews%5Btt_news%5D=15684&tx_ttnews%5BbackPid%5D=48|date=November 12, 2013|archive-date=December 3, 2013|access-date=November 5, 2025}}</ref> She was considered a diligent and gifted student. In letters to her parents, she wrote about life in Germany, the differences between it and Japan, and her love of the German language. A selection of these letters was published in German translation in 1987 and reissued a few years later in a small booklet.<ref name=”trieruniv”/> A new edition of these letters was published by Iudicium Verlag in 2020.<ref>{{cite book|year=2020|first1= Hilaria |last1=Gössmann|first2=Maren |last2=Haufs-Brusberg|title=”als hättest du ein Stück Japan eingepackt”. Briefe von Ayano Mutsuko aus ihrer Studienzeit in Deutschland|trans-title=”As if you had packed a piece of Japan with you.” Letters from Ayano Mutsuko during her studies in Germany|language=de|publisher=Iudicium|location=Munich|isbn=9783862055319|pages=1-154}}</ref>
On the morning of November 17, 1983, she was walking from Trier-East along the Stations of the Cross to the university when she encountered Janusz Komar, a 20-year-old Polish fairground worker who was in Trier for All Saints’ Day Mass.<ref name=”wort”>{{cite web|url=https://www.wort.lu/international/wie-der-mord-an-matsuko-ayano-die-grossregion-erschuetterte/9383503.html|language=de|title=Wie der Mord an Matsuko Ayano die Großregion erschütterte|trans-title=How the murder of Mutsuko Ayano shook the greater region|publisher=Luxemburger Wort|acess-date=November 6, 2025}}</ref> He tried to snatch Ayano’s handbag. When she resisted, she fell and was kicked several times in the head by the man. He fled with 90 marks. Mutsuko Ayano succumbed to her severe injuries a few days later in the hospital. Initially, the police had no leads on the perpetrator. The case was solved when the perpetrator was apprehended in [[Regensburg]] in December 1983, where he had robbed and kicked another woman to death. He was sentenced to life imprisonment.<ref name=”wort”/>
On the morning of November 17, 1983, she was walking from Trier-East along the Stations of the Cross to the university when she encountered Janusz Komar, a 20-year-old Polish fairground worker who was in Trier for All Saints’ Day Mass.<ref name=”wort”>{{cite web|url=https://www.wort.lu/international/wie-der-mord-an-matsuko-ayano-die-grossregion-erschuetterte/9383503.html|language=de|title=Wie der Mord an Matsuko Ayano die Großregion erschütterte|trans-title=How the murder of Mutsuko Ayano shook the greater region|publisher=Luxemburger Wort|-date=November 6, 2025}}</ref> He tried to snatch Ayano’s handbag. When she resisted, she fell and was kicked several times in the head by the man. He fled with 90 marks. Mutsuko Ayano succumbed to her severe injuries a few days later in the hospital. Initially, the police had no leads on the perpetrator. The case was solved when the perpetrator was apprehended in [[Regensburg]] in December 1983, where he had robbed and kicked another woman to death. He was sentenced to life imprisonment.<ref name=”wort”/>
The crime sparked widespread public sympathy. In 1984, a memorial stele designed by the Trier sculptor Jupp Zimmer according to the wishes of Mutsuko Ayano’s parents was erected at the site of the attack on Petrisberg Hill.<ref name=”okauniv”/> It was donated by Rotarians who had funded her scholarship and made of [[sandstone]] at the request of her parents.<ref name=”inscription”>{{cite web|url=https://kulturdb.de/einobjekt.php?id=17109|title=Gedenkstein für Mutsuko Ayano, Kürenz, Stadt Trier|trans-title=Memorial Stone for Mutsuko Ayano, Kürenz, City of Trier|publisher=Datenbank der Kulturgüter in der Region Trier |language=de|access-date=November 5, 2025|quote=”Inschrift:MUTSUKO AYANO OKAYAMA-JAPAN GEB.30.09.1956 GEST.21.11.1983 SIE LIEBTE DEUTSCHLAND EIN LEBEN VOLLER HOFFNUNG FAND AN DIESER STELLE EIN GEWALTSAMES ENDE 17. NOVEMBER 1983 IHRE FREUNDE” (Inscription: MUTSUKO AYANO OKAYAMA, JAPAN BORN September 30, 1956 DIED November 21, 1983 SHE LOVED GERMANY A LIFE FULL OF HOPE FOUND A VIOLENT END AT THIS SPOT NOVEMBER 17, 1983 HER FRIENDS)}}</ref> In 2008, a street in Petrisberg-West was named after Mutsuko Ayano (49° 45′ N, 6° 40′ E).<ref name=”okauniv”/><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.trier.de/Rathaus-Buerger-in/Aktuelles/Rathaus-Zeitung/Vier-starke-Frauen/|title=Vier starke Frauen|trans-title=Four Strong Women|language=de|publisher=City of Trier|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250120044937/https://www.trier.de/Rathaus-Buerger-in/Aktuelles/Rathaus-Zeitung/Vier-starke-Frauen/|archive-date=January 20, 2025|date=February 5, 2008|access-date=November 5, 2025}}</ref> Since the memorial was erected in 1984, local residents volunteer to always take care of the memorial and provide fresh flowers and candles for it.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://public-art-trier.de/objekt/gedenkstein-fuer-mutsuko-ayano/|title=Gedenkstein für Mutsuko Ayano|trans-title=Memorial stone for Mutsuko Ayano|publisher=Public Art Trier|language=de|access-date=November 5, 2025}}</ref>
The crime sparked widespread public sympathy. In 1984, a memorial stele designed by the Trier sculptor Jupp Zimmer according to the wishes of Mutsuko Ayano’s parents was erected at the site of the attack on Petrisberg Hill.<ref name=”okauniv”/> It was donated by Rotarians who had funded her scholarship and made of [[sandstone]] at the request of her parents.<ref name=”inscription”>{{cite web|url=https://kulturdb.de/einobjekt.php?id=17109|title=Gedenkstein für Mutsuko Ayano, Kürenz, Stadt Trier|trans-title=Memorial Stone for Mutsuko Ayano, Kürenz, City of Trier|publisher=Datenbank der Kulturgüter in der Region Trier |language=de|access-date=November 5, 2025|quote=”Inschrift:MUTSUKO AYANO OKAYAMA-JAPAN GEB.30.09.1956 GEST.21.11.1983 SIE LIEBTE DEUTSCHLAND EIN LEBEN VOLLER HOFFNUNG FAND AN DIESER STELLE EIN GEWALTSAMES ENDE 17. NOVEMBER 1983 IHRE FREUNDE” (Inscription: MUTSUKO AYANO OKAYAMA, JAPAN BORN September 30, 1956 DIED November 21, 1983 SHE LOVED GERMANY A LIFE FULL OF HOPE FOUND A VIOLENT END AT THIS SPOT NOVEMBER 17, 1983 HER FRIENDS)}}</ref> In 2008, a street in Petrisberg-West was named after Mutsuko Ayano (49° 45′ N, 6° 40′ E).<ref name=”okauniv”/><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.trier.de/Rathaus-Buerger-in/Aktuelles/Rathaus-Zeitung/Vier-starke-Frauen/|title=Vier starke Frauen|trans-title=Four Strong Women|language=de|publisher=City of Trier|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250120044937/https://www.trier.de/Rathaus-Buerger-in/Aktuelles/Rathaus-Zeitung/Vier-starke-Frauen/|archive-date=January 20, 2025|date=February 5, 2008|access-date=November 5, 2025}}</ref> Since the memorial was erected in 1984, local residents volunteer to always take care of the memorial and provide fresh flowers and candles for it.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://public-art-trier.de/objekt/gedenkstein-fuer-mutsuko-ayano/|title=Gedenkstein für Mutsuko Ayano|trans-title=Memorial stone for Mutsuko Ayano|publisher=Public Art Trier|language=de|access-date=November 5, 2025}}</ref>
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Mutsuko Ayano |
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|---|---|
Memorial stele for Mutzuko Ayano, Petrisberg Hill, Trier, Germany (LAT: 49° 45′ N, LONG: 6° 40′ E) |
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| Born | September 30, 1956 |
| Died | November 21, 1983 (aged 27) |
| Known for | Murdered while a university student |
Mutsuko Ayano (綾野 睦子), (September 30, 1956 – November 21, 1983) was a Japanese doctoral student who was the victim of a violent crime while studying in Germany.
Ayano completed her studies in German philology in Japan at Okayama University and came to the University of Trier in 1981 as a Rotary scholarship recipient to pursue her doctorate under Professor Hermann Gelhaus.[1][2] She was considered a diligent and gifted student. In letters to her parents, she wrote about life in Germany, the differences between it and Japan, and her love of the German language. A selection of these letters was published in German translation in 1987 and reissued a few years later in a small booklet.[2] A new edition of these letters was published by Iudicium Verlag in 2020.[3]
On the morning of November 17, 1983, she was walking from Trier-East along the Stations of the Cross to the university when she encountered Janusz Komar, a 20-year-old Polish fairground worker who was in Trier for All Saints’ Day Mass.[4] He tried to snatch Ayano’s handbag. When she resisted, she fell and was kicked several times in the head by the man. He fled with 90 marks. Mutsuko Ayano succumbed to her severe injuries a few days later in the hospital. Initially, the police had no leads on the perpetrator. The case was solved when the perpetrator was apprehended in Regensburg in December 1983, where he had robbed and kicked another woman to death. He was sentenced to life imprisonment.[4]
The crime sparked widespread public sympathy. In 1984, a memorial stele designed by the Trier sculptor Jupp Zimmer according to the wishes of Mutsuko Ayano’s parents was erected at the site of the attack on Petrisberg Hill.[1] It was donated by Rotarians who had funded her scholarship and made of sandstone at the request of her parents.[5] In 2008, a street in Petrisberg-West was named after Mutsuko Ayano (49° 45′ N, 6° 40′ E).[1][6] Since the memorial was erected in 1984, local residents volunteer to always take care of the memorial and provide fresh flowers and candles for it.[7]
In a generous response to their daughter’s violent death, her parents established the Mutsuko Ayano Fund,[2] which has enabled Japanese students to study at Trier University since 1985 and is administered by the Friends of Trier University.[8] Beginning in 1993, Osaka Gakuin University has sent one or two students a year to study at Trier University.[9] Since February 2016 there has been an exchange of both faculty and students between Trier University and Okayama University.[1] Two of these scholarship recipients are now professors of German Studies in Japan: Kazuhiko Tamura (1985/1986) at Kwansei Gakuin University and Akiko Hayashi (1986/1987) at Tokyo Gakugei University.[8] In her welcoming address at the 11th German Japanology Conference in Trier in 1999, Professor Hilaria Gössmann pointed out that Mutsuko Ayano’s death had been crucial in establishing Japanese Studies as a discipline at the University of Trier.[10]
Quotes from Mutsuko Ayano’s letters
[edit]
“There’s something touching about the stories of people who do creative work. They see not only time and space, the here and now, but also the suffering involved in the birth of a work, the joy, the struggle with oneself. And then there’s the life of calmly contemplating oneself: I only came to know and experience all of this here. I think I’ve become a little different; moved away from a superficial, fickle self full of curiosity.” (January 17, 1983)[11]
“My interest in the world of the German language knows no bounds, even after studying it for so long.” (April 5, 1982)[11]
“Be that as it may, I am truly very impressed by the strength of the women here, their sense of responsibility for their own work, their assertiveness. […] I don’t want
to become so harsh. Even if we talk about equality, there is something that only women have. It’s not bad if a woman uses that […] it’s wonderful to live in a world where you can determine your own life, the way you want to.” “You only live once. I want to live in a way that I can justify to myself. Here I have learned and experienced a way of life, a way of life that transcends time and space; a way of life that consists of calmly observing oneself and constantly wrestling with oneself to find something essential.” (February 22, 1983)[11]
“That is my motto: ‘If you want to master a language, you have to like the language.’ I thought that this sentence was mine, but I discovered that the venerable Goethe
said something similar: ‘What you don’t love, you can’t do.’” (February 7, 1983)[11]
- ^ a b c d “President of Trier University, Germany, Pays a Courtesy Visit to President Makino”. Okayama University. October 28, 2019. Retrieved November 5, 2025.
- ^ a b c “30 Jahre nach Mord: Gedenken an Mutsuko Ayano, Die japanische Studentin wurde in Trier Opfer eines Raubüberfalls” [30 years after the murder: Remembering Mutsuko Ayano The Japanese student was the victim of a robbery in Trier] (in German). University of Trier. November 12, 2013. Archived from the original on December 3, 2013. Retrieved November 5, 2025.
- ^ Gössmann, Hilaria; Haufs-Brusberg, Maren (2020). “als hättest du ein Stück Japan eingepackt”. Briefe von Ayano Mutsuko aus ihrer Studienzeit in Deutschland [“As if you had packed a piece of Japan with you.” Letters from Ayano Mutsuko during her studies in Germany] (in German). Munich: Iudicium. pp. 1–154. ISBN 9783862055319.
- ^ a b “Wie der Mord an Matsuko Ayano die Großregion erschütterte” [How the murder of Mutsuko Ayano shook the greater region] (in German). Luxemburger Wort. Retrieved November 6, 2025.
- ^ “Gedenkstein für Mutsuko Ayano, Kürenz, Stadt Trier” [Memorial Stone for Mutsuko Ayano, Kürenz, City of Trier] (in German). Datenbank der Kulturgüter in der Region Trier. Retrieved November 5, 2025.
“Inschrift:MUTSUKO AYANO OKAYAMA-JAPAN GEB.30.09.1956 GEST.21.11.1983 SIE LIEBTE DEUTSCHLAND EIN LEBEN VOLLER HOFFNUNG FAND AN DIESER STELLE EIN GEWALTSAMES ENDE 17. NOVEMBER 1983 IHRE FREUNDE” (Inscription: MUTSUKO AYANO OKAYAMA, JAPAN BORN September 30, 1956 DIED November 21, 1983 SHE LOVED GERMANY A LIFE FULL OF HOPE FOUND A VIOLENT END AT THIS SPOT NOVEMBER 17, 1983 HER FRIENDS)
- ^ “Vier starke Frauen” [Four Strong Women] (in German). City of Trier. February 5, 2008. Archived from the original on January 20, 2025. Retrieved November 5, 2025.
- ^ “Gedenkstein für Mutsuko Ayano” [Memorial stone for Mutsuko Ayano] (in German). Public Art Trier. Retrieved November 5, 2025.
- ^ a b “Mutsuko Ayano-Fonds” [Mutsuko Ayano Fund (Has Photo of Mutsuko Ayano)] (in German). University of Trier. Retrieved November 5, 2025.
- ^ “Taking Off:Season’s Greetings from the International Center: Director Mike Matsuno, The Mutsuko Ayano Scholarship: The University of Trier -Germany” (PDF). Osaka Gakuin University. January 25, 2010. Retrieved November 6, 2025.
- ^ Gössmann, Hilaria; Mrugalla, Andreas (2001). 11. Deutschsprachiger Japanologentag in Trier 1999 [11th German-Language Japanology Conference in Trier 1999] (in German). Vol. I. Berlin-Hamburg-Münster: LIT Verlag. p. 15. ISBN 3825844633. Retrieved November 5, 2025.
- ^ a b c d “Gedenken an Mutsuko Ayano” [Remembering Mutsuko Ayano]. Das Trierer Stadtmagazin (in German). November 18, 2008. Archived from the original on January 13, 2009. Retrieved November 5, 2025.
- 睦子、留学は終わったよ – 西ドイツで悲しみの死 (Mutsuko, ryūgaku wa owatta yo – Nishi Doitsu de kanashimi no shi) [Mutsuko, your studies abroad are over – Sad death in West Germany] (in Japanese). Uchi-Kanda: 三修社 (Sanshūsha). 1984. ISBN 9784384037388.
