There is always a debate on what is the secret of a long and successful married life. Mutual trust, patience, coordination and most importantly, good communication are considered the basic mantras of a happy marriage. But contrary to all these common beliefs, a Japanese couple lived a married life for almost two decades without saying a word to each other and even gave birth to three children. This is such a unique incident that attracted the attention of the whole world. The story of the marriage of Otau Katayama and his wife Yumi Katayama, living in Nara area of ​​South Japan, is surprising as well as painful. From 1997 to 2017, i.e. for almost 20 years, Otau had stopped talking to his wife. Despite living in the same house, they lived their married life without any communication.

Child born after silence!

Yumi constantly tried to talk to her husband. But her husband would just shake his head whenever she said anything. Even amid this deep silence, the couple remained together, raising three children and maintaining family responsibilities. Two daughters were already born before his silence. But their youngest son was born during their silent marriage!

Couple started talking because of third son

The secret of this unique marriage was revealed by the couple's youngest son Yoshiki. 18 year old Yoshiki had never seen his parents talking to each other. Troubled by this strange situation, he wrote a letter to 'TV Hokkaido', a famous Japanese TV show, asking for help.

After knowing the story of this couple, the team of the show tried to restart the conversation between them. Otau and Yumi were arranged to meet in the same park where they met for the first time in their lives. His children were watching that special moment from a distance with tears.

The husband finally apologized

After many years of silence, Otau Katayama finally spoke to his wife. He said emotionally, "It feels strange talking to you after so many years. I am thankful to you for everything you have endured all these days." He also acknowledged that his silence hurt Yumi and apologized for it.

The reason behind the silence came to light

The reason behind this silence also came to light later. Otau began to feel that Yumi was focusing more on raising the children and was neglecting them. Initially this caused sadness, but later it turned into irritation. This resentment turned into silence, which continued for 20 years.

Surprisingly, all these years, Yumi never thought about divorce or separation. Despite her husband's silence, she kept the family together and raised the children. Even when her husband did not talk to her, she continued to spend her life with him. After 20 years of silence, through the efforts of the children, dialogue finally resumed in this marriage. This incident not only shows the importance of communication in married life, but also raises questions about the limits of patience. This unique marriage story of Japan has become a rare example of human emotions, jealousy, silence and patience.