Shinto Wedding , Shinzen kekkon ( ???? , "Marriage before us") , began in Japan in the early 20th century, popularized after the wedding of Crown Prince Yoshihito and his bride, Princess Kujo Sadako. The ceremony relies heavily on the themes of Shinto purification, and involves a three-cup drinking ceremony three times, nan-nan-san-ku-do . Shinto marriage is declining. Fewer Japanese are married, and those who often choose Western-style chapel ceremonies.
Video Shinto wedding
Ceremony
Shinto wedding ceremonies are usually a small affair, limited to families, while the reception is open to a larger group of friends.
Shinzen kekkon, literally "marriage before us," is a Shinto cleansing ritual that combines sake exchange between couples before they get married. The ceremony usually takes 20 to 30 minutes.
Foods, including salt, water, rice, sake, fruit, and vegetables, are left on ceremonial wedding altars, which also hold wedding rings.
A Shinto priest stands to the right of the altar, while a temple girl, Miko , stands on the left. The couple will often stand in the middle of the room, while the closest family member stands behind a table containing sake and small fruits.
The priest will purify the temple and call the attention of the good spirits, or us . Then, the priest announces the commencement of the san-san-ku-do ceremony, or "three-three-nine-times," which reflects three oaths taken three times, represented by three cups, pours three times, and swallowed in three sips. This often includes three pours of three cups of increasing size. The first, the smallest cup, first poured into the groom, who drank from it before offering it to the bride. Poured the first two go to the bride, then to the groom. Pouring the end away from the first groom, then the bride (essentially repeating the first pour).
The sake aspect of this ceremony is said to be the heart of Shinto's marriage. Rituals may be derived from samurai marriages, although the symbolism of actions and numbers does not have a clear origin. Some people see the ritual as a representative of sharing the joys and sorrows as married couples, others say that san-san is a homonym for "birth after birth," indicating the symbolism of fertility. Others suggest it represents men, women, and children, or heaven, earth and humanity.
The couple approached the altar, where the groom read the oath while the bride listened. Reflecting the history of matchmaking in Japan, a nakodo , or "matchmaker," would be grateful in an oath. If there is no matchmaker, a friend or family member will be appointed to fill the role, serving roles similar to "best man" or "bridesmaid". Later, the family joined by drinking sake and the traditional cheerfulness of "kampai."
At the end of the ceremony, the priest offers Japanese green flowers to the altar, a word to reflect gratitude to the spirits that bless unity. The groom follows with their own offering, then representatives from each family (often the father of the bride and groom). The rings are then presented.
In the wedding prayer, the gods Izanagi and Izanami are often called. These married gods are part of Japanese knowledge of the "first marriage", and are asked to reflect a harmonious balance in marriage. Other aspects of Shinto wedding prayer include asking couples to work to keep a respectable home, and for couples to have children.
Costume
The bride and groom Shinto usually wear a kimono. The bride wore a traditional kimono, often combined with a wig. There is also a paper hat, tsuno-kakushi, or "horn horn," which is meant to hide the "horns" of a jealous demon. Typical colors for this kimono include red and white, the color of purity Shinto.
Maps Shinto wedding
Origins and initial history
Shinto wedding is a modern invention. The first mention of marriage in the Shinto manual was in 1872; marriage was not reported until the 1880s. This marriage is limited to the families of Shinto priests. Shinto's previous marriage was a family gathering with no religious significance, apart from the occasional appearance of a female dancer, katsurame , said to protect the bride from the devil.
Scholars suggested that the adoption of religious marriage ceremonies was driven by the decline of state-sponsored Shinto shrines during the 1880s. A new ceremonial rash appeared in this period, including visits for newborns and on certain birthdays.
Prince Yoshihito's Wedding
Prince Yoshihito married Kujo Sadako in a Shinto ceremony at the Imperial Palace in 1900, one of the first ceremonies of its kind. The wedding reflects a change in Meiji era thinking about marriage, which recently legitimately allowed marriage to be a balanced partnership between husband and wife.
The next Shinto wedding ceremony took place at Tokyo Hibiya Daijingu temple in 1901. Later, sacred places such as Ueno Shimotani and Izumo Shrine in Tokyo held a wedding ceremony. These ceremonies, which are concentrated in Tokyo, are still confined to the elite. Soon, the wedding ceremony took place in more cities, starting in Osaka and Kyoto, and began attracting larger dowry donations.
Postwar marriage
After being stripped of its status as a state religion in 1945, there was a rapid increase in the democratization of the Shinto wedding ceremony, and, in turn, the number of people who voted for it. It also reflects the mass transfer of families to smaller towns and homes, which makes it more difficult to host domestic ceremonies.
This period also saw the rise of the commercial marriage industry, which grew out of the collaborative lending of the great spots for the wedding ceremony.
Contemporary Japanese wedding
Japanese Shinto weddings are supervised by priests, but are often done in hotels or in special places designed to accommodate weddings. As Japan's marriage rate declines, fewer Shinto weddings are made; the number has dropped from 90% ceremony to 50% since the 1990s. Marriage in Japan more often reflects a Christian wedding ceremony, regardless of the personal faith of a married couple.
In 1999, two gay men married in a Shinto ceremony at Kanamara Shrine in Kawasaki, but gay marriages have not been widespread in the Shinto shrine, and the Shinto Shrines Association's position on gay marriage is unclear.
See also
- Family law in Japan
- Women in Japan
- same-sex marriage in Japan
References
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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