Images of Koyuki Higashi's childhood came back to her in flashes. She was almost always in the bathroom; sometimes she caught a glimpse of the stool she used to sit on while taking a shower, other times she saw her father and her, bathing together. For a long time Higashi was unable to make much sense of the flashes. A few years ago, however, she finally began to remember: She had been sexually abused as a child.
The abuse always occurred in the bathroom and her mother was invariably just outside, preparing dinner in the kitchen. How could Higashi's mother not hear her cries of pain? How could she keep quiet as her husband raped her own daughter? Higashi still asks herself these questions today. "When I began to remember what had happened, I couldn't believe it at first," Higashi says. "I didn't want to believe it. My parents were good people and my father was well-respected in society. Nevertheless, I couldn't pretend that it didn't happen anymore."
Higashi, 29, made headlines in March 2013 when she and her partner, Hiroko Masuhara, became the first same-sex couple to hold a wedding at Tokyo Disney Resort, even though gay marriage has no legal standing in Japan.