I am a housewife in my forties. I met my husband when we were university students. At the time, we were each in other relationships.
But the moment I met him, I had a strange certainty: I’m going to marry this person.
The road wasn’t easy. We became a long-distance couple, and there were many obstacles. During that period, a friend of mine made a special trip all the way to Suzumushi-dera in Kyoto — the temple famous for granting wishes — to obtain charms for both me and him. Of course, my prayer was: “Please let us be married.”
Suzumushi-dera is known as a temple where the charms truly do grant wishes. And so it was: we eventually married, were blessed with one daughter and one son, were able to buy a home, and have made our life together to this day.
This Golden Week, our family of four visited Suzumushi-dera together for the first time. Back then, my friend had brought me a charm. This time, each of us received our own. Each member of our family made a new wish, holding the conviction that it would come true.
For thirty years I had set this story aside in the daily flow of life. But suddenly, as the anniversary approached, the memory returned with full force. I went back this year as a way of saying thank you. Meeting the head priest, expressing my gratitude for the marriage that began all of this — I wanted to walk the next chapter of life with that same gratitude in my heart.