This past Friday, one of my closest friends from high school had a wedding. Even though western style weddings (Meaning wearing the white wedding gown and having a ceremony at a cute chapel or hotel, etc. It has nothing to do with the Wild West.) is extremely popular among our generation, my friend decided to wear a kimono and a wig at her Japanese style wedding. Unfortunately, I don’t have any pictures of the ceremony, but for those of you who are not familiar with Japanese style weddings, the following is how a typical ceremony proceeds.
Japanese style weddings are usually held at a shrine. In my friend’s case, it was at Meiji Shrine, which is one of the most well-known shines in all of Japan. One of the privileges of having a wedding at the Meiji Shine is the rare opportunity to take a beautiful walk around the Shrine before the ceremony. The Meiji Shrine is on a beautiful piece of property, despite it being in the middle of Tokyo. The bride, groom, and their families slowly walk towards the Shrine, taking in every moment and preparing themselves for the most important day of their lives.
Once they are at the Shrine, a Shinto priest performs a purification ritual called Shubatsu. Typically, brides and grooms will stand in front of their families and friends while the Shinto priest says prayers and shakes an Onusa (a decorative scepter) over them.
Then the fun begins. The priest’s prayers are followed by sake (rice wine). First, the groom sips sake out of a sakazuki (shallow sake cup), then the bride sips, then back to the groom again. They have to make sure not to drink too much sake, because they have to repeat this ritual two more times after this!
Then, they exchange their wedding bands, say their wedding vows to each other, and say prayers. Quite similar to the western style.
Many shrines offer celebratory dances by the shrine maidens. After everybody enjoys the maidens’ performances and have relaxed a bit, families drink sake to spread their joy between two parties. Though the order of events may differ from shine to shine, however, the meanings and importance of each ritual stays mainly the same.
Weddings are such a joyous occasion for those of who are involved. If you have a chance to see or participate in a Japanese style wedding, don’t hesitate. It’s a solemn and spiritual experience. If you have your own experience, tell us about it using the comment section under this post.
By the way, there was more sake involved at the reception as well. And their party favor for the guests was an individually named sake cup made of Hinoki cypress wood. Very cool, and smells great.
I hope my friend and her new husband have a wonderful journey ahead of them, now as husband and wife.
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