Marriage is monogamous. When a married person enters into a relationship outside of the marriage, it is labeled as “immoral and unethical”. Sadly, these secret relationships are happening to many married people all over the world. Some of them don’t hide their ‘illicit’ relationships from their spouse and boldly tell the public that they are in an ‘open’ marriage.
A man in Japan lives with his legal wife and a partner, together with their 6 children. Since polygamy is illegal in the country, the man is unable to marry his second ‘wife.’ However, they admit that they are all very happy living in the same home, secluded from society.
The Nishiyama family lives in a secluded area deep in the mountains of Saga Prefecture, Japan. 38-year-old Nishiyama Yoshikatsu, a calligraphy artist, his first wife, 38-year-old Yukari, his second wife, 41-year-old Yuuko, and their 6 children live under 1 roof. The 2 housewives have been assigned their duties. Yukari is responsible for cleaning and doing the laundry, while Yuuko tends to the younger children. The family, including the children, admits that they have a harmonious life. People who have heard their stories are curious about how they manage to live such an unconventional family life.
7 years ago, Yoshikatsu married Yukari. For some time, the couple were in a monogamous marriage. When he was at work at the studio, he started to develop feelings for his assistant, Yuuko. When he realized that his feelings for her were real, he felt troubled. However, not wanting to hurt his wife, Yoshikatsu confessed his feelings for Yuuko to Yukari. Instead of feeling jealous or betrayed, Yukari reluctantly accepted. She understood her husband’s feelings for Yuuko since she also admits that the assistant was like a sister to her.
“Yuuko is like my older sister,” Yukari admitted. “I trust her a lot. She has helped us in many ways too. So I thought it’s natural for Nishiyama to like Yuuko.”
As for Yuko, when she learned of Yoshikatsu’s feelings for her, she initially refused since it may be unfair to Yukari. However, she was envious of how Yoshikatsu and Yukari got along with their marriage despite the man having feelings for another woman. The couple could communicate freely and be honest with each other.
“My ex-husband and I just can’t communicate like this,” Yuuko said. “So the marriage also came to an end.” After Yoshikatsu’s confession, Yuuko developed a good impression and finally admitted her feelings to him. “I responded to him, and I said I like him too.”
Feeling confused, the 3 had a conversation on how to deal with the love triangle relationship. “We thought, what’s the point of marriage in the first place?” Yoshikatsu said. “So we decided to find the answer together.” Naturally, it was not easy for Yukari when the 3 of them began to live in the same house. However, after 2 weeks, she had a baby and was willing to give the 3-way relationship a chance. Yukari admits that the children have made the trio closer to one another.
“Of course, I felt like it was impossible for me to accept this sort of situation,” Yukari confessed. “But two weeks after we moved here, I had a baby. And because of this baby, I was willing to give it a shot. You can say that children bind us together.”
Yoshikatsu and his 2 wives decided to move to a more secluded area on the mountains for a more private life away from society. Years passed and the 2 women bonded like sisters and deepened their relationship. They also delivered each other’s babies. The family had a total of 6 children. Yoshikatsu has 3 children with Yukari and 2 children with Yuuko. Along with a son from Yuuko’s first marriage, the Nishiyamas have a total of 6 children. The family of 9 lives a happy life.
Yukari said that their husband treats both women equally. Their communication is honest and open. Although Yukari manages their finances, there is only 1 wallet used by the 3 of them. “Whoever can make money puts the income in our joint finances. The three of us must know where every money is spent.”
Yukari said that she used to be uncomfortable with the 3 of them living together. However, as time passed, the trio got along well with Yuuko adding more harmony to their marriage. “This is our personal choice,” Yuuko frankly said. “If we lose confidence in the relationship one day or find someone more suitable in the future, we can quit at any time. Marriage is a game of encountering ourselves. Let us see it more clearly.”
▼ Watch the Nishiyamas here:
The trio’s love triangle story garnered mixed reactions from the public, with some raising eyebrows when they learned of the unconventional relationship the Nishiyamas share, breaking the norms of monogamous marriage.
Images credits: © Yi Tiao/YouTube
