Chieko Ito met her match, so to speak, through an “omiai” marriage matchmaking event when she was 23 years old.

Little did she realize that her future husband, a shy and retiring type, would be the rock that anchored her in life.

Hiroshi, who was six years older, was born in Gifu Prefecture, landed a job at a manufacturing company after graduating from junior high school and studied at night school and college.

He never made himself out to be somebody he wasn’t.

Chieko, who was also born in Gifu Prefecture and is now 73, looks back on the past with such fond memories and sadness.

She recalled she wore her usual dress when she took a photo for the omiai meeting because she didn’t know she was supposed to be in traditional kimono for the occasion.

Hiroshi later told her that he decided to marry her the instant he gazed at her picture, sensing she was a strong-minded person.

After Chieko quit her job selling study materials to become a full-time homemaker, Hiroshi told her he wouldn’t have got as far as he had without her support. He encouraged her to study for something.

Chieko was caught off-guard by his thoughtfulness. This was a time when it was a common practice for women to stay at home and look after the children.

Watching how Chieko single-handedly took over the preparations for their wedding and honeymoon, Hiroshi felt his wife could go far in life if she spread her wings.

He later urged her to come up with a goal.

BUILDING A LEGAL CAREER

One day, she came across a newspaper ad for a correspondence course at Chuo University’s Faculty of Law in Tokyo and signed up for it, more out of casual interest than any fierce determination to become a lawyer.

She forced herself to read a pile of technical books on law to write her papers.

She had no knowledge of law, and occasionally it took her more than a year to finish reading a single book because she needed to look up each legal term.

Reaching her limit studying alone, Chieko joined group study sessions even though it meant a four-hour round trip.

Even after she completed the six-year correspondence course, she continued studying late at night once she put her three children to bed.

She passed the bar exam when she was 43 years old and her eldest child was 18.

When Chieko found her name on the list of those who had passed the bar exam, she rushed to give Hiroshi the news from a public pay phone in front of the venue.

In his typical calm and gentle tone, he said he knew she would make it.

Chieko set up her own law firm at home and provided consultations on all manner of matters: labor issues, bankruptcy procedures, fraudulent activity and so on.

Her client base continued to increase, so she worked even on holidays.

Although Hiroshi was no legal expert, he gave her advice based on his life experiences.

When Chieko got stressed out, Hiroshi would take her out for a ride.

He retired early at age 55 to support his wife.

The corners of the pages of a dictionary of legal terminology she always kept to hand had turned yellow and brittle from use.

HIS LAST WISH

About two years ago, Hiroshi was diagnosed with liver cancer.

But surgery wasn’t an option because he had suffered an aortic aneurysm rupture several years earlier.

The couple spent their last five days together in a hospital room, talking about the good old days.

Hiroshi told Chieko he wanted her to keep working as a lawyer but not to overdo it.

He died in May this year at age 77.

His grave features a motif of a sunflower, which is used for a lapel pin worn by lawyers.

“That’s because we got the pin together,” she said.

It is designed with a balance in the center, with the kanji character for “love” inscribed on it.

She made the design because she learned treating both parties with love from the stance of Hiroshi who cared for other people.

After Chieko got back to work, she keenly realized how big her husband’s presence had been in her life.

When she is at a loss for answers, she imagines what her husband would have said.

Chieko is at one with herself when she is working.

That is all the more reason for her to continue her legal career, with her husband in her heart.