I'm not an expert on this, despite the fact I have a book about it. I'll quote it.
Quote:
One widely observed celebration is the Shinto wedding. In the past, Shinto weddings were conducted at home, but today Shinto shrines with beautiful grounds are popular places for "marriage before kami [god]", and many Japanese couples choose a Shinto ceremony. Marriage in Japan has always been viewed as a contract between two families, so it is not conducted by a priest but by the couples themselves.
In Japan, October is the month for weddings. The bride may wear a modern Western-style wedding dress, or she may choose traditional Japanese wedding clothes: a special kimono and a tall wig with long hairpins and a wide white headband. According to custom, the headdress hides the "horns" of female jealousy. Traditional garb for the groom was a kimono and divided pants [hakama], but today most grooms choose to wear a Western-style suit or tuxedo. As a pledge of their union, the couple sip rice wine [sake] from three cups. Their families then sip the wine to show loyalty to the new family that is being formed. A wedding feast follows the ceremony.
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The brackets are what I threw in, just for fun. And now, for funerals:
Quote:
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Old Shinto did not have funeral rites, which came into the religion from Buddhism. Most Japanese are still "born Shinto, die Buddhist," choosing Buddhist ceremonies for funerals. But Shinto priests may conduct solemn prayers for the dead at Shinto shrines as well. The funeral ceremony marks the beginning of the dead person's new life as an ancestor who, having lived life to the fullest in accordance with the will of the shrine kami, will continue to bring prosperity and blessings to the living.
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And then, since I attended one of these types of funerals myself (half of my family is Japanese, and the other half is what we'd call "red-neckey"), I'll tell you my own experience.
After the ceremony, as described above, a small shrine handmade by my mother's father (My mom's side is Jap), made a small shrine to her and placed a photo portrait of her in a gilded frame and decorated it with random flowers and etc. Every year, we're supposed to remember her and pray in front of the shrine. But since I can't go visit my family there as often as I'd like, I do it without a shrine. Most of the time we remember those recently died on New Years Day, and fast.
I'm Christian, but it's a fun little ritual and it keeps them in mind.
04-13-2005, 07:37 PM
