While hook-up is the new cool for the millennials, old-style romance has taken a backseat. But not for this couple. While most of us complain about how difficult it is to stay in a marriage and the compromises that come with it, this couple has been married for 30 years now and their love is still as beautiful as the enigmatic smell of a beautiful flower.
To make a living, Toshiyuki and Yasuko Kuroki had a dairy farm with about 60 cows. However, their lives changed when Yasuko gradually lost her eyesight due to diabetes.
But, as we live by examples and know that something beautiful always comes out of something terrible, in this case, the husband, who’s a farmer by profession, decided to plant thousands of bright fuchsia colored fragrant flower so that his wife finds a way out from her sadness.
The loss of eyesight affected Yasuko immensely resulting in she isolating herself inside a room and distancing herself from people. Unable to bear the fact that she is withdrawing herself from life, Toshiyuki came across Shibazakura, a flower growing in a farm and immediately an idea blossomed in his mind. He thought even if his wife cannot enjoy seeing the lovely flower, but nothing can stop her from smelling the beautiful fragrance.
As a result, this humble farmer converted his dairy farm into a gigantic flower garden by planting these flowers near his home and across the farm. Love and nature have an amazing way to heal a person and therefore, Yasuko’s life changed immensely and for good. She gradually started opening up to people around her again.
Not just that, this pink-hued blanket of flowers are also attracting tourists, who visit the country during cherry blossom season and the best part is NOW Yauko interacts with them as well.
It all happened about 28 years ago but flowers are still blooming as a symbol of their untainted love. The dairy cattle firm is gone now and instead stands a beautiful museum which houses these beautiful flowers and the incredible love story behind it.
Every year in the months of March and April, Shibazakura blooms and more than 7,000 tourists come to see and smell this beauty as well as to meet the couple who are now in their 70s and 80s and walk by the garden built with immense care and love.
Love is truly in the air.