Female, 30s ★★★★★
“The drama was good, but this diary is far more real. It records her fight from age 15 to 24. When Aya asked her doctor, ‘Can we get married?’, my heart ached. Every woman wants to love, to marry, to have children. Aya fulfilled that wish. I truly hope she can live a healthy life in her next reincarnation.”

Female, 30s ★★★★★
“I binge‑watched the recorded drama in two days. So moved that I bought the original. Unlike the drama, there‘s no glamour – but that’s exactly why Aya‘s feelings come through so directly. I’ll definitely let my child read it when older.”

Male, 20s ★★★★★
“Aya‘s honest outpouring of her heart, proof of her desperate will to live. I read it over ten years ago and bought it again. Her unvarnished self from adolescence…”

Male, 40s ★★★★★
“I suffer from the same disease. Aya’s strength to live positively gives me courage. As a fellow patient, this book means a lot.”

★ A phenomenal Japanese nonfiction work! First published in 1986, it sold 260,000 copies. The 2005 bunkoban edition sold over 2.1 million copies by 2006. Total series sales exceed 2 million copies, making it a long‑selling classic for nearly 40 years.
★ The 2005 TV drama starring Erika Sawajiri swept across Asia and was nominated for the 47th Drama Academy Awards for Best Drama. The 2004 film won “My Favorite Movie” at the 9th China International Children’s Film Festival. A Turkish remake aired in 2018, proving its cross‑cultural universal appeal.
★ Translated into multiple languages and read by millions worldwide. One reader with the same disease wrote: “Her strength to live positively gave me courage.” Countless readers say: “I want my children to read this when they grow up.”
★ A new film adaptation is coming in 2027 – 20 years after the original drama. Ryo Nishikido will reprise his role as Haruto Asō, and the theme songs “Sangatsu Kokonoka” and “Konayuki” by Remioromen will return.
★ This is not a “how to succeed” book. It is the real diary of a 15‑year‑old girl living in the cruel reality of losing her physical freedom while her mind remained fully aware. She answered the cruelest question – “Why did this disease choose me?” – and kept moving forward.
★ Rights sold: Traditional Chinese, Arabic, Italian, Vietnamese. More languages available upon request.

Aya Kito (July 19, 1962 – May 23, 1988) lived in Toyohashi City, Aichi Prefecture. In her third year of middle school, she began experiencing frequent falls and other physical problems. After a medical examination at Koseikai Hospital, she was diagnosed with a rare disease: spinocerebellar degeneration. This is a condition in which the cerebellum, brainstem, and spinal cord gradually atrophy. It starts with symptoms such as an inability to hold chopsticks properly and frequent falls. As the disease progresses, the patient becomes unable to walk, then unable to write, and eventually loses the ability to speak, becoming bedridden. In the worst cases, it leads to death. However, because the cerebrum remains unaffected while the cerebellum, brainstem, and spinal cord atrophy, the patient’s intellectual faculties are completely unimpaired. In other words, she remained fully aware of her body gradually losing its freedom. She struggled to live on, caught between the cruel reality of a body that could no longer move freely and a mind that stayed acutely conscious.

The diary she kept throughout her battle, writing until her hands could no longer move, was compiled and published as a book in 1986. It caused a great stir, especially in the Tōkai region centered around Aichi Prefecture. In February 2005, it was released as a paperback (bunkoban). By 2006, it had sold over 2.1 million copies, becoming a long‑selling classic.

At 12:55 a.m. on May 23, 1988, Aya Kito’s short life of 25 years ended due to physical deterioration caused by the progression of spinocerebellar degeneration and the resulting uremia. Afterwards, Aya’s mother, Hiroka Kito, published a book titled “The Hurdle of Life” (Inochi no Hādoru), a memoir of her memories with her daughter.

Additionally, the end of “One Liter of Tears” includes a retrospective essay by Aya’s attending physician, Dr. Hiroko Yamamoto, a professor at Fujita Health University. The paperback edition also contains an afterword by Hiroka Kito and a “supplement” describing Aya’s final moments.

Aya Kito (July 19, 1962 – May 23, 1988) – Author of “One Liter of Tears.” Born in Toyohashi, Aichi Prefecture, the eldest daughter. At 15, she was diagnosed with spinocerebellar degeneration. Encouraged by her mother, she kept a diary until she could no longer write, leaving 46 notebooks. She died at 25. Her diary was published in 1986, and has since been translated into many languages worldwide.

Hiroka Kito (mother) – A public health nurse. She supported her daughter and encouraged her to write, leading to the publication of “One Liter of Tears.” She later wrote her own memoir, “The Hurdle of Life,” offering a mother’s perspective.