Japanese Wedding Symbols
A highly ritualized event, weddings in various cultures often incorporate symbolic items. The Japanese have included symbols in their weddings since ancient times, which often represent hopes of a long-lasting union and abundant offspring.
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Engagement Ceremony Items
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The Japanese engagement ceremony, known as the yuinou, involves the families of the bride and groom exchanging symbolic items. For instance, abalone represents longevity, and cuttlefish stands for pregnancy. Kelp resembles the character that means "child-bearing woman" when written in Japanese, while a long linen thread symbolizes gray hair and the hopes that the married couple will remain together, even in old age.
Engagement Ceremony Decorations
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The items exchanged during the yuinou ceremony are often adorned with decorations which also symbolize hopes for the couple's future. These include a crane—a bird that mates for life—and a tortoise, an animal that lays many eggs. Pine stands for prosperity since it is evergreen; bamboo represents integrity because it grows upright. Lastly the cherry tree's beautiful flowers—a celebrated plant in Japan—symbolizes lifelong happiness.
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White Outfit
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In the Edo era, from 1700 to 1900, a Japanese bride of the samurai class wore, among other outfits, a white kimono and veil, with white paint on her face. The color white stands for a new beginning and an end, as the bride stops being her father's daughter and starts being her husband's wife.
O Juju
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In Japanese Buddhist weddings, the couple often hold a rosary or o juju containing a total of 21 beads, 18 of which represent the couple, two of which represent the two families and the remaining one bead represents the Buddha.
Food
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In a Japanese wedding banquet, the dishes symbolize happiness, prosperity, long life and many children. For example, fish served with the tail and head meeting to form a circle represents eternity. Clams served with both sides of the shell intact stand for the couple and a lobster's red color symbolizes luck. Japanese couples never serve four dishes or multiples of four, due to the number's connotation with death.
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References
- Photo Credit cherry blossom image by A p CLARKE from Fotolia.com
