Japan is a country where Polygamy is illegal. However, it doesn’t stop you from living with multiple women while only married to one. Similar is the case of Nishiyama Yoshikatsu.
Nishiyama is a 40-year-old Calligraphy Artist who lives in Suga prefecture with his two wives. His first wife is “Yukari,” who is 40-year-old and has two children with Nishiyama. Similarly, the second wife “Yuuko” is 43-year-old and has had three children with Nishiyama and another son from her first marriage.
Yukari the first wife
Yuuko the second wife
So the Iyasaka family consists of nine members. Since Polygamy is illegal in japan, Yuuko can’t officially marry him, but she does refer to herself as Yuuko Nishiyama.
How they came to live together
However, it wasn’t easy at the start. According to Yoshikatsu’s interview with Yi Tiao, he and Yukari were in a marriage for seven years when he started having feelings for Yuuko. For the next three months, he was unable to stop having these feelings. He felt trapped between his feelings for Yuuko as well as his duty to Yukari.
The friend he was talking to said that Yoshikatsu’s experience was not unethical, as it wasn’t like Yoshikatsu wanted to commit adultery. He was advised by a friend to tell Yukari what he thought and be honest with her.
Yukari stated that she was shocked when Yoshikatsu told her about his feelings for Yuuko.
But she could also see why Yoshikatsu was in love with her. She thought of Yuuko as her older sister, and Yuuko had helped them in many ways before. So even if she was shocked, she thought it was natural for him to feel that way about Yuuko.
She believes that Yoshikatsu did the right thing to tell her about this rather than cheating behind the back. But still, it was hard for her to accept this kind of accommodation.
Yuuko divorced her husband because she felt that there was no honesty between them in that marriage. The honesty and understanding of Yoshikatsu and Yukari are what made Yuuko like Yoshikatsu.
After the three of them sat down and talked about this, they concluded that you really don’t need to be married if you love each other and are ready to be with one another.
Of course, Yukari, the first wife, would have trouble initially, but she gave birth in the second week of living together to Yuuko, and she was willing to try for the sake of the child. This child brought all three of them together. After that, they helped each other through their deliveries and now have a big happy family.
Who does he sleep with?
As for the question of who Nishiyama spends the night with, in the early days, there was a routine for it; however, now they let it flow naturally.
Even during the first night of Nishiyama with Yuuko, instead of sleeping alone imagining things, Yukari watched them do it. Although she does admit, she feels “terrible” that she watched on.
Here’s a full interview with the Iyasaka family from Yi Tiao.
Also check out their Family YouTube Channel and their vlog.
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