After seven years of diligent pursuit, Ibuki Kishi was finally able to win over the heart of Yukimi Ichimaru.
“I didn’t always think I wanted to marry him, but I think I always knew I would. I think Heavenly Father always wanted me to marry him,” said Yukimi.
The two were in the same stake when they were young, but their paths never crossed until one fateful meeting at a youth conference when they were both 17 years old.
Born to Eiji and Nobuko Kishi in Kumamoto, Japan, Ibuki grew up as the fifth child of 10, with two older brothers, two older sisters, one younger sister, and four younger brothers.
Yukimi was raised by her parents, Toshio and Yuko Ichimaru, with a younger brother named Shogo.
Yukimi recognized Ibuki at the youth conference because his family was well known throughout the stake.
When Ibuki first saw Yukimi, he said he “immediately fell in love with her.”
No serious exchanges took place between the two of them during their first interaction, but Ibuki was able to get her contact information before it was too late.
They casually corresponded for the next year and never saw each other in person until the following youth conference.
Ibuki knew this would be his best chance to win Yukimi’s affection before she left for college, so he decided to seize the opportunity and asked her to be his girlfriend.
Yukimi said, “I wanted to say no, but he looked really sad so I just couldn’t turn him down.” The two dated for six months before Yukimi left for BYU–Hawaii and Ibuki left for his mission in Nagoya, Japan.
After about a year of letter writing, Yukimi said she called off their relationship because she was preparing to serve a mission of her own and didn’t feel like it was the right time to be involved in a serious relationship.
Fast forward almost one year and Yukimi was called to serve in the Utah Temple Square mission, set to report just one month after Ibuki’s homecoming. Once he had returned, Ibuki took Yukimi on one final date before her mission, told her he still had strong feelings for her, and asked if there was any chance they could go on seeing each other after her mission.
Yukimi said, “The old me would have told him there was no chance, but I had a lot of fun on that date, so I couldn’t say no.”
She told him not to wait for her and to go on as many dates as possible. He did, but Ibuki said if he didn’t have anyone special in his life by the time she got home, he wanted to go on one more date. Yukimi then started her mission, and Ibuki began school at BYUH, all the while diligently writing Yukimi throughout the duration of her service.
Having 18 months to prepare things, Ibuki had a plan set to win her heart upon her return.
Only a few days home from her mission, Yukimi received a message on Facebook from her admirer asking if she would like to exchange mission stories on Skype.
Yukimi accepted, and they began conversing back and forth for the couple of months leading up to her return to BYUH.
A week before the semester began, Yukimi was back in Hawaii and Ibuki had gotten her to commit to dinner and a movie with him. After their date, Ibuki asked her on another date for the next day, which she accepted.
They continued to go on dates almost every day of the week up until the day before the semester began, and on that day, Ibuki asked Yukimi to be his girlfriend again.
After spending a day carefully thinking about his proposal, Yukimi agreed and said, “I thought he had too many ideas about who I was. If we start dating, he will see some of the bad things about me and realize I’m not perfect.”
Three months later, Ibuki took Yukimi to the Laie Temple where he got down on bended knee and asked her to marry him.
Yukimi said, “Every time before this when he would ask me on a date, I would have to think about my response before saying yes. This time, I said yes right away!
“My whole life, I never really liked him as a boyfriend, but I liked him as a friend,” Yukimi said. “Many people ask me when I fell in love with him, and the answer is as soon as he proposed.
“Before, he always seemed to like me more, but it’s at the point now where I think I like him even more than he likes me,” Yukimi continued.
Ibuki said when he finally won Yukimi over, it felt like he had completed a major challenge. “I felt like I had finally accomplished my mission in life. I was so happy.”
The Kishis were married in the Laie Hawaii Temple on June 17, 2015.
Their friend Shogo Nishida, a senior from Japan studying hospitality and tourism management, said, “I think they are the most adorable couple here. How he treats and cares for her is pretty unique from other husbands. They remind me a lot of Mickey and Minnie Mouse.”
Ibuki is a junior studying accounting and Yukimi graduates this semester with a degree in graphic design. The couple plans to move to Kyushu, Japan once Ibuki has graduated.