SEMESA Ratu Qioniqara Turagadina and Yoko Okuno’s wedding blended two rich cultures perfectly together.
Built on trust and mutual respect, their relationship has withstood some of the toughest life challenges.
For the couple, marriage is a divine covenant vowed before God to uphold the teachings of Christ among themselves and their future family.
Semesa, who hails from Tubairata in Nadroga with maternal links to Fataleka, in the Solomon Islands, is a flight attendant with Fiji Airways.
Yoko, who hails from Kansai region in Japan is self-employed. Her father is from Izumisano while her mum is from Kumatori in Osaka. The couple first met in 2014 in Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University in Beppu Japan where they both studied. Semesa was an international student on a scholarship while Yoko was a local student. In describing why Semesa was the one, Yoko said she had fallen in love with Semesa’s kindness.
“He is a six-foot-two giant with a heart of a big teddy bear,” she said about her husband.
“I love how he supports me. In Japan, misogyny still happens, and Mesa always encourages me every day, that I’m strong and capable enough to work in the same field as men do,” she said.
“That gives me strength, challenging myself to be stronger. I love his choice of words and he’s always ready to share about God. He’s always ready to comfort and take care of his friends and families.
“He loves his mum very much and I know that when we have children, he will teach our children to love as well. He cheers me on every day, communicates anything and everything with me – that’s why he is the one.”
The first meeting
On their first meeting, Yoko said, initially she found Semesa quite annoying.
“He is always joking around and talks to everyone, it was too much energy for me but every time I got to meet him, I started to see his selflessness,” she said.
“He helped me with school, especially my English assignments and he would walk me home.
“He was always ready to help, and I grew fond of him and fell in love with him quickly.
“Throughout the years I would turn to him more, however, he was still annoying and is still a big social butterfly, but I love him more for that because he brings me out of my comfort zone and reminds me every day of what I’m capable of.”
After knowing each other for more than 11 years, the couple knew they wanted to spend the rest of their lives together.
Knowing it was the right time, Semesa took Yoko to meet his mum in 2019.
“I didn’t know that in the Fijian culture, to take someone to meet your parents is a big thing. My mother-in-law is a gift from God to me,” Yoko said.
That visit was the foundation of their official courting. On overcoming challenges together, Yoko shared a crucial moment in their lives that helped them grow closer together.
“Mesa has always spoiled me, but it was during COVID when he lost his job, and I had to support him. He is a stubborn person when it comes to asking for help, but he always finds a way. I realised quite quickly that I wanted to be with him even when he had nothing.
“Now he takes me all over the world. I travel more in planes than I do in a car because of this Nadroga man who gives freely and openly. He doesn’t know when to give up, no matter how much he might fail at something.”
Semesa says wife has many amazing qualities.
“Yoko has so many qualities. Listing them all would take forever but these are the ones that spring to mind, she is incredibly patient and extremely supportive,” he said.
“My wife is incredibly patient especially when it comes to my line of work. She is supportive in the sense that she is very empathetic towards my goals, my wellbeing and she provides encouragement, allowing me to grow more in my role as a husband and as a new head of the family we are going to build together. She is also dedicated and obedient to God and her family.”
He said he had met her through two of her Tongan friends, Mele Fifita and Jean Malupo, through what the Japanese call a “nomikai” (social drinking party).
“It wasn’t a good first impression, however, we attended the same university and had the same circle of friends.”
“It started off with hellos and goodbyes and it grew from there, 11 years down the line, here we are.”
Not always rosy
He said the early stages of their relationship was very chaotic.
“Our relationship officially started in 2019 and the first thing I wanted to do was have her meet my mum,” he said.
“When my mum approved, I knew our relationship was going to start off great.”
At the start of their courting days, two incidents occurred that helped solidify the couple’s love for each other.
It was when Semesa’s dad passed away and him losing his job as a flight attendant.
“When my father was called to eternal rest, she, like my mother, was a source of comfort and strength. The second time was when Fiji Airways had the mass firing of cabin crew and staff during COVID.
“Through that time of struggle, she stood by me. She stayed with me through my highs and lows in life.”
About their proposal, there wasn’t a i lakovi.
“My wife is Japanese; there is no traditional protocol for an i lakovi unlike here in Fiji. In Japan you have to seek approval and blessings from parents for their daughter’s hand in marriage,” Semesa said.
“There are many things that I had to consider, especially when her parents had questions about financial situations and racial differences.
“I was nervous because I wondered what they would think of me showing up and asking them if I could marry their daughter.
In the end, Semesa stayed with Yoko’s family in Japan. After getting Yoko’s parents approval and blessings he returned and rejoined Fiji Airways.
For Yoko it was slightly different, she had to win the affection of Semesa’s mum.
“I had to win the affection of his mother. I was very nervous, but Na Noa has such a beautiful soul and is a very God-fearing woman,” Yoko said.
“She taught me a lot, even when she wasn’t talking.
The wedding
When choosing to wed in April this year, the couple had to consider a lot of things.
“As a Japanese person we plan our lives and things we want to achieve at certain phases of our lives,” Yoko said.
“Marriage for me was to be at 30, Semesa was no exception. We lived a colourful life in our 20s and in our 30s it was another chapter of life, one that we wanted to face together as a family.
“There are many things we have to consider in regards to our next step.
“We are big on communication and understanding each other but for now our next step is placed before the throne of God and we will be obedient to his call.
The couple’s wedding ceremony required good planning. Semesa asked his mum for her advice on the wedding.
“She advised us to have it in Nadi, thinking of my family travelling from Japan so they could stay close to the airport instead of travelling to Suva,” Yoko said.
“Bishop Gabriel Sharma was instrumental in my husband’s spiritual growth in the church and St Christophers Anglican Church Nadi was where my husband was baptised and grew up. It was fitting that we vowed before God in the sanctuary he attended and was dedicated in.”
The couple thanked many people for their successful wedding — they thanked Yoko’s family, Semesa’s family and friends and everyone else involved in their lives. They thanked the church for its blessings on the new journey together.
