It started out as a loving gesture from a husband to make his blind wife smile again. Now it is a tourist attraction.
Japan may be famous for its cherry blossom, but in Miyazaki Prefecture people go to see a different floral spectacle. This is mainly dues to the love story behind it.
After 30 years of marriage, Mr and Mrs Kuroki had planned to enjoy their retirement by touring the country. However, at the age of 52 Mrs Kuroki suddenly lost her sight over the course of a week due to complications from diabetes, according to RocketNews24.
Broken by the loss of vision and the prospect of being unable to make the dream trip, she became depressed and shut herself away in their home.
Believing a visitor or two might bring her out of her seclusion, Mr Kuroki decided to plant some pink shibazakura flowers, or moss phlox, in the garden, hoping people would come to look at them.
He also hoped his wife would take pleasure from their smell, even if she couldn’t see them
For two years, he planted thousands of the flowers around their home. A decade later, up to 7,000 people a day visit the flower garden in spring, gathering from surrounding towns and prefectures to see the incredible sea of pink.
People now travel from far and wide to see the beautiful garden. As well as coming to see the beautiful, bountiful flowers, many are eager to meet Mrs Kuroki, who is often seen walking around the garden with her husband – usually wearing a big smile on her face.
