The Scented Flower Garden that makes a blind wife smile again

April 03, 2016

Over 7,000 people visit this lovely herb bryophyte garden in Shintomi town, Japan’s Miyazaki Prefecture on any given day within the months of March and April, drawn each by the wonder of this scented purple carpet and the touching story behind its very existence.

The story of this common traveller spot is derived back to 1956, when Mr. and Mrs. Kuroki, a new couple, bought a plot of land in Shintomi. They built a house and a farm on that and worked hard for many years, tending to a herd of sixty cows. They hoped to take a trip around Japan once they eventually retired, however things didn’t quite end up as they'd planned.

At age 52, after 30 years of marriage, Mrs. Kuroki developed an eye fixed condition and went blind a week later. Desolated at the prospect of living with a disability, the poor lady grew depressed and shut herself from the world, selecting a lifetime of seclusion. Mr. Kuroki was saddened to visualize his ordinarily cheerful wife in most pain. As a result of she couldn’t travel across Japan as they'd continuously planned, he wished to seek out how to bring the entire of Japan to her.

Inspiration affected once he was standing in his garden one day, and he thought of the pink Shibazakura (moss phlox), an extremely aromatic flower. He realised that this flower was excellent for his wife, because it might be experienced both through sight and smell. And if he stuffed his garden with enough flowers, he figured that people would possibly come back to examine them daily, therefore his wife would always have guests.

So Mr. Kuroki spent the next 2 years laying the muse for the new Shibazakura garden. He cut down all his trees, closed the farm and used equally of land he could spare to plant more flowers. Within a couple of years, their house was enclosed by an ocean of bright pink blooms that, just as Mr. Kuroki expected, attracted guests from far and wide.

It has currently been over a decade since he planted the first seeds. Nearly 7,000 people from neighboring cities and prefectures visit the Kuroki house each day between March and April, not only to witness the beautiful pink blossoms, but also to catch a glimpse of the lovely couple walking around the property. Unnecessary to say, Mrs. Kuroki is often seen wearing a large smile on her face!

Another factor that creates this place special is that it's personal property that the Kuroki family makes accessible to the general public whereas the flowers are in bloom, permitting them to steer around the place and take photos, and even participating in speech with their guests. 

All images courtesy of Yoshiyuki Matsumoto via rocketnews24