You may know someone who can hold a grudge; perhaps you even think this person is the best grudge-holder ever. You’re wrong–just to set the record straight–because that honor has to go to Otou Katayama for Nara, Southern Japan. After a marital spat, he decided not to speak to his wife his wife, Yumi…for 20 years.
via GIPHYYou see, Yumi was a good mother to her three children (all grown now) and Otou was apparently jealous of all the attention he wasn’t receiving from his wife because of it. Thus began what was possible the longest case of the silent treatment in recorded history. Try as Yumi might, the only responses she would ever get from her husband were nods and grunts.
It was only when their youngest child reached out to a local television show than any progress was made. 18-year-old Yokishi was desperate for help since he had never in his entire life heard his parents speak to each other.
The TV program set up a meeting between for the Katayamas in Nara park, where they had their first date, with their son and two daughters watching from afar. On the park bench where they first met, Otou spoke to Yumi for the first time in two decades! He confirmed that he had been “kind of jealous” of their children (understatement of the century!), and went on to say, “Yumi up until now, you have endured a lot of hardship. I want you to know I’m grateful for everything.” And while he admitted that there’s no going back, Otou promises that the future won’t be so quiet.
