Everyone loves a story about two lovers who must overcome adversity in order to be together. It’s been the basis of every story from Romeo and Juliet to Titanic. But this tale of star-crossed love might top them all, because the two lovers had to overcome perhaps the greatest obstacle ever: being different species.
Photo Credit: Asian Boss
Yuta Shinohara is a 25-year-old design student who lives in Kytoto, Japan. He’s a proponent of “entomophagy,” which is the the practice of eating insects. Yuta’s been eating bugs since childhood, but it was only after the UN released a report urging people to consider insects as a protein source that he became open about it. Since then, he’s been promoting entomophagy by coming up with insect-heavy recipes, like Cricket Ramen.
Photo Credit: Yuta Shinohara
But Yuta’s love of insects extends far beyond a culinary appreciation. In an interview with Asian Boss, he revealed that he was in a relationship with a cockroach for a whole year. Her name was Lisa, and the day she scurried into his life, everything changed.
Photo Credit: Asian Boss
Lisa came into Yuta’s life when he ordered her from a farm in Africa, but it was clear she was more than just a menu option. Yuta felt a comfort with Lisa that he’s been unable to find with human women. Over time they formed what he felt was a bond. “It could’ve been my imagination since I got too attached over time that I started to feel as if we were communicating,” he said in the interview.
Photo Credit: Asian Boss
Yuta’s never been particularly into to human women, and he considers Lisa to be his first girlfriend. “We were 100 percent serious. No human girl was as attractive as Lisa. Lisa was my first love, I pictured doing it with her many times because I really liked her.”
Oh, don’t act like you weren’t wondering about it. The sex question came up in the interview and Yuta spoke about the challenges unique to human-cockroach coupling.
Yuta and Lisa never had sex because “the size didn’t fit,” as he put it. With no way to consummate their love, Yuta was left with only his fantasies. He would often dream about Lisa growing to his size, or himself shrinking down to Lisa’s size. (Why do I feel like it’s time to reboot Honey, I Shrunk the Kids?)
Photo Credit: Kuma Foundation
But a size difference wasn’t the only thing standing in the way of Yuta and Lisa’s. Cockroaches only live for about a year, so Yuta knew their time together would be brief. “The day she passed away was difficult, but I knew it had to come since she was a cockroach with a short life span.”
Rather than bury her, Yuta came up with an all-too-appropriate tribute: he ate her. “Now, Lisa lives in my heart and continues living as part of my body,” he said.
Photo Credit: Asian Boss
Going forward, Yuta wants to convince the world that insects aren’t household pests, but a part of nature that should be respected like anything else. He plans to continue coming up with recipes that make insects palatable to non-entomophagists. And he hopes to be known as something more than “the guy who loved a cockroach.”
Yuta hasn’t said if he intends to date more cockroaches in the future, or if he’d consider dating another insect species entirely. But hey, if you know any single termites out there, maybe you could play matchmaker!
h/t: LAD Bible