A Quick Glance at a Japanese Wedding
21 Jul 2009
If you have been invited to a traditional Japanese wedding or you are simply interested in wedding traditions in general, you will discover that there are some fascinating aspects about a Japanese wedding ceremony that make it unique from other similar ceremonies. A Japanese wedding might be Buddhist, Shinto, or Christian in nature, or it might be specifically non-religious. The form of the wedding may have more to do with the couple’s taste than their religious preference.
The most customary sort of Japanese wedding that you may most likely observe is the Shinto style wedding; they are private events held at a shrine. Only intimate family members participate in this service, but there will often be an older couple there as well, to act in the matchmaker role. The ceremony includes rituals such as drinking sake and in a more modern form the exchanging of wedding rings. The families of the bride and the groom will also exchange drinks of sake to display that the two families are now linked together. Japanese brides wear a shiromuku, a white kimono, for wedding dresses, while the grooms will wear montsuki, a formal black kimono, and the wide legged trousers known as hakama.
When the service has ended at the Shinto shrine, there is often a reception celebration, where the extended family, friends, and colleagues will be invited to celebrate the wedding. Guests typically dress formally, and it is common to see women wearing suits as well as kimono to this event.
It is expected that a Japanese wedding invitation is replied to almost immediately and it is imperative to not forget that a gift of money is neccessary. There may be a specific sum on the invitation, but if not, you can decide how much to give based on how close you are to the newlyweds; the closer you are to them, the more you are expected to give. Preferably, the gift is given in crisp new bills, and is put into an envelope known as a shugi-bukuro and the name of the giver is written nicely on its front. The guests even get a gift at a Japanese wedding, usually a memento known as hikidemono is given, and nowadays guests would be allowed to pick their gift from a catalogue.
The wedding reception itself is usually a very entertaining affair, with the bride and groom seated on a stage and many participants singing celebratory or congratulatory songs for them. It is not uncommon to see a Western style wedding cake, and in many receptions you will see the newlyweds walk around the room to light candles and greet their friends and family. Rather than staying in their formal wedding dress, the bride will likely change into a less formal kimono.
A Japanese wedding can take elements from a lot of different cultures and traditions, and it is just as possible to see Japanese brides wearing elegant Western wedding dresses as it is to see them in a formal white kimono and elaborate headdress. If you have received an invite to a Japanese wedding, it would be wise to ask what is proper and what the couple is wanting from their guests. No matter what part of the globe you may come from, you will see that a wedding is a means to celebrate with a loving couple their happiness and joy.
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