Japanese farmer spent decades planting thousands of pink flowers after his wife went blind due to diabetes; this is why he wanted visitors to come to their home
When Yasuko Kuroki lost her eyesight, the life she and her husband, Toshiyuki Kuroki, had planned together changed. The Japanese couple had spent decades working on their dairy farm in Miyazaki Prefecture, raising their family and looking forward to travelling around Japan after retirement. But complications from diabetes left Yasuko blind, and she gradually withdrew from the outside world. Her husband wanted to find a way to help her reconnect with people. His idea was to plant thousands of pink flowers around their home, creating a garden that would attract visitors and give his wife more opportunities to spend time with others.As reported by the UK media portal Daily Mail, Toshiyuki transformed their property in Shintomi Town into a landscape filled with pink ‘shibazakura’ flowers, also known as moss phlox, after noticing that people passing by stopped to admire the blooms.
Yasuko Kuroki lost her eyesight after 30 years of marriage
Toshiyuki wanted to find something that would encourage her to go outside and reconnect with the world around her.
According to the Daily Mail, Toshiyuki and Yasuko had been married for 30 years when she began experiencing problems with her sight. Within a week, she had lost her eyesight following complications related to diabetes. The couple had built their lives around their dairy farm, where they woke early every morning to look after a herd of 60 cows. Their plans for retirement included travelling around Japan, but Yasuko’s sudden loss of sight changed those plans. Yasuko became deeply withdrawn after losing her eyesight. She stayed inside the house and avoided meeting people, while Toshiyuki watched her struggle to adjust to the change in her life. Yasuko became isolated after losing her sight. Toshiyuki wanted to find something that would encourage her to go outside and reconnect with the world around her.
Why Toshiyuki Kuroki began planting thousands of pink flowers
The idea came from a small garden that already existed on their property. Toshiyuki noticed people stopping to admire the bright pink shibazakura flowers, also called moss phlox. He began thinking about what might happen if he planted many more of them. If the garden attracted more visitors, they might come to the couple’s home, talk to Yasuko and offer her company. According to the Daily Mail, Toshiyuki gave up dairy farming and devoted his time to developing the garden. The report said he spent two years preparing the ground, cutting down trees and caring for the young plants before the landscape began to take shape.That initial work was only the beginning. An archived Japanese gardening record indicates that Toshiyuki continued developing the garden over more than two decades. By 2016, the property covered around 4,000 square metres. The flowers were chosen for more than their appearance. Their fragrance was also important. Although Yasuko could no longer see the pink blooms, she could still experience their scent. As reported by Good News Network, the garden helped encourage Yasuko to spend time outside. As visitors began arriving, she had more opportunities to talk to people instead of remaining isolated inside the house.
The garden attracted visitors during the flowering season
The garden became known for more than its flowers. Visitors were also interested in the story behind it.
Over the years, the garden around the Kuroki home developed into a large carpet of pink flowers. The blooms were at their fullest during March and April, drawing visitors to Shintomi Town in Miyazaki Prefecture. As reported by The Daily Mail, the site had more than 7,000 visitors a year. The garden became known for more than its flowers. Visitors were also interested in the story behind it: a husband who had spent years transforming his property because he wanted his wife to have more company.According to the Daily Mail, visitors could also see the couple’s old cow sheds and learn about the garden’s history. The property, once centred on dairy farming, had become a place where people came to see the blooms and learn why they had been planted.
What happened to the Kuroki flower garden ?
The garden’s story continued after it attracted international attention, but its organised public opening did not continue indefinitely. The garden’s run as a public attraction came to an end in 2017, after around three decades of maintenance by Toshiyuki Kuroki. According to a Japanese gardening record documenting the garden’s history, Kuroki decided to end its general public opening in cooperation with Shintomi Town because maintaining the garden had become physically demanding as he grew older. A report published by the local Miyazaki Nichinichi Shimbun on April 13, 2017, also noted that the season would be the last for the famous hillside of pink shibazakura.
