7.

Social Institution in Japan: Marriage

Social View about Marriage, Marital Practice & Marriage Ceremony
 Social View: Meaning of Marriage in Japan
Compared to West

Japan West
• Marriage in Japan is only true legal way to found a family. It • People promise to love each other forever
is extremely rare in Japan for parents to be unmarried. when they get married (even if it's often a
dream).
• Japanese people do not traditionally have a romantic image
of marriage, and love is still not regarded as essential by • Modern laws make it the same to get
many people (although mores are changing). children outside marriage, so that if
people only want children, marriage is not
• Many Japanese take a pragmatic view of marriage, knowing even necessary.
fully well that love doesn't last forever and that this
shouldn't be the only criterion for getting married. • Marriage is usually a proof of love and
commitment for life. If love disappears,
• Lots of marriage are still arranged and some Japanese think people tend to divorce easily (except
that such marriages are better than love marriages because sometimes when there are small children,
arranged marriage rarely end up in divorce as their purpose to avoid perturbing them psychologically).
is purely practical - namely to have and raise children.
• The romantic ideal of marriage is what
• Marriage can be seen as a business arrangement in which motivated gay and lesbian people in
the woman typically quits her job and care of the household Western countries to fight to their right to
and raise the children. Japanese men are usually ready to get married.
ask their spouse to stay at home, paying for their expenses,
even if their salary is tight. As the father of a child born • Marriage in the West is first and foremost
outside marriage in Japan is not legally recognized, the a way to formally recognize the loving
marriage rate of parents is close to 100%. bond between two people.

Source: Maciamo. (2015). Meaning of marriage in Japan compared to Western cultures. Wa-pedia.
 Marital Practice in Japan
Pre-Meiji Period
• In imperial times polygamy was not uncommon and high -ranking aristocrats sent their daughters to
the palace to be married for political and social reasons. Until the Meiji Era in 1868, samurai
families, which made up only about 6 percent of the population, were the only ones who formalized
their marriages.

• Ordinary Japanese rarely had their marriages formalized or had any kind of wedding or ceremony.
Traditionally, once a man began regularly visiting a woman the were considered married. Later
when the man's mother considered herself no longer able to do her household chores by herself she
asked her son's "wife" to move in. This occasion was often accompanied by a small party to introduce
her to the neighbors.

Meiji Period to Pre-World War II Period

• Japanese customs were viewed as immoral by Christian Europeans. In the mid 1800s, Meiji
government introduced marriages laws and Shinto weddings ceremonies so that Japanese would
appear more civilized in Western eyes.

• The ie seido or ‘family system’ was considered a cornerstone of Japanese society until the end of the
Second World War. The prime objective of marriage was the continuation of lineage and therefore
mate-selection was controlled by family members through a form of arranged marriage (miai).

Source: FACTS AND DETAILS. (2014). MARRIAGE IN JAPAN: HISTORY, LOVE, ARRANGED MARRIAGES, INTERNATIONAL MARRIAGES.
Tokuhiro, Y. (2009). Marriage in contemporary Japan. Routledge.
 Post-World War II Period
• After the war, the ie seido or family system was abolished, through the 1947 Constitution and
associated Civil Code. The new constitution assured the freedom of choice of spouses and both
men and women became able to marry without the consent of parents.
• With a strong contemporary emphasis on the ideal of romantic love marriages, the number of
love marriages came to exceed that of arranged marriages and the proportion of love marriages
was over 85 percent by 1996.

In Today’s Japanese Society

 Arranged marriage
 Love marriage
 Cross-cultural marriage
(Japanese men in international marriages are most likely to marry Chinese, Korean and
Filipino women. Japanese women in international marriages are most likely to marry
Chinese, Korean and American men)
 Marriage without dating (Kousai zero Nichikon)
It seems that some young Japanese are fed up with dating and searching for the ideal mate
and are just marrying their friends, colleagues and so on.

Source: FACTS AND DETAILS. (2014). MARRIAGE IN JAPAN: HISTORY, LOVE, ARRANGED MARRIAGES, INTERNATIONAL MARRIAGES.
Tokuhiro, Y. (2009). Marriage in contemporary Japan. Routledge.
Bhuiyan, M. U. (2020). Japanider Life Style o Adob Kaida (Japanese Lifestyle and Ettiquettes). Dhaka: Chintasutra.
 Marriage Ceremony
Traditional Style
• Traditionally, the wedding couple is dressed in traditional kimono. The religious wedding ceremony is held in
Shinto style at a shrine. Nowadays, this shrine may be located inside the hotel where the festivities take place.
A Shinto priest conducts the ceremony, which is visited by only the close family members and friends of the
couple.
• In the ceremony, the couple is purified (to exorcise of evil spirits); drink sake (the bride and groom and their
parents take sips three times, each from three different cups, called sakazuki, represents sealing the bond
between the two families); and the groom reads the words of commitment. At the end of the ceremony, symbolic
offerings are given to the kami (Shinto deities).
• After the ceremony, the couple welcomes all the guests, and the reception party is held. Usually the party is
visited by about 20 to 200 guests among whom are relatives, friends, co-workers and bosses of the bride and
groom. The party normally starts with the introductions of the bride and groom.
• In a Japanese wedding reception, it is expected to bring a cash gift in an envelope. The name is to be written on
the front of the envelope and handed to the person at the reception prior to signing the guestbook. Guests
typically gift an average of 30,000 yen. But, the amount chosen follows some very strict rules due to ancient
superstitions. Guests would gift between JPY 10,000 and 50,000 based on their financial means and status, but
this amount will be either 10,000, 30,000 or 50,000 as it cannot be an even number like 20,000 or 40,000.
Indeed, even numbers can be divided which would refer to the correlation with splitting and thus divorce.
Following the wedding, the bride and groom will be offering gifts to their guests for the same value they have
been offered. For instance, if a guest donated JPY 30,000 they will give that person a present that amounts to
the equivalent price.
• Afterwards, a meal is held. Japanese weddings generally feature a colourful sushi display, as well as seabream,
prawns and red rice. During the reception, there is also a ceremonial sake opening, where the lid of a sake
barrel is broken open and then sake is served to all of the guests

Source: japan-guide.com. (2021, May 23). Weddings.

Easy weddings. (2021). 11 Japanese wedding traditions.
Guellou, O. (2020, April 28). Japanese Wedding Traditions vs. Current Practices. WORKINJAPAN.TODAY.
 • During the wedding reception, the couple sits on a stage. During this time, the guests often give speeches and performances
like songs for the couple. After the couple cuts their wedding cake, they usually greet their guests and lighting candles .

• During the whole celebrations, the groom and especially the bride may change their dresses several times. At the very end
of the party, the couple makes a speech to all the guests and thanks everybody.

• At the end, the couple offers souvenir to their guest. Common wedding souvenir include sweets, sake cups, tableware etc. In
recent times, a trend has emerged where guests can choose gifts from a catalogue. Japanese couples usually spend $40 -90 to
buy gifts for their guests

Western Style
• During recent decades, Japanese couples have introduced many Western elements to Japanese weddings. Many brides chose
to wear white dresses, and some religious ceremonies may be held in Christian style at a Christian church even though the
couple is not Christian. The ritual of cake cutting, the exchange of rings and honeymoons are a few other very common
adopted elements.

• A number of Japanese couples also hold their wedding ceremony outside of the country. By doing so, the honeymoon can be
combined with the ceremony, and the number of guests and, therefore, the overall costs for the event can be reduced .

Contemporary Practice: The Changing Pattern

• Nowadays, besides the usual ceremony wedding companies do not just stick to the typical practices. The bride and groom
leave it to their hand to come up with some creative ideas they would then implement to entertain the guests during the
event. For instance, an acquaintance attended a wedding in Kobe and related that as part of the celebrations guests were
presented a basket of fruit from which each member was to pick one and then approach the bride and groom to present them
as a sort of offering.

• Either way, there seems to be a lot of freedom in the way Japanese people might celebrate their big day and the least
traditional the ceremony will be the more creative the bride and groom can be.

Source: japan-guide.com. (2021, May 23). Weddings.

Guellou, O. (2020, April 28). Japanese Wedding Traditions vs. Current Practices. WORKINJAPAN.TODAY.
Common Wedding Tradition in Japanese Society At
Present

• Yuino or Yui-no (the meeting of the two families and the

exchange of gifts. It is less common today, but still
sometimes occur after a proposal)

• Wedding: Shinto, Christian, Buddist or non-religious.

• Wedding Clothes: Kimono (montsuki/ black kimono-

for Grooms, shiro-muku/white kimono, symbolizes
purity; Iro-uchikake/colourful kimono, represents
happy future- for brides). White gowns for those who likes
Western dresses or prefers Christian style wedding

• Purification

• San san ku do (drinking sake)

• Shugi-bukuro (a cash gift in an envelope)

• Taking stage

• Kagami-biraki (reception dinner)

• Hikidemono (wedding favours/souvenir for the

guests)

• Other commonly adopted wedding traditions include:

cutting of the cake, exchange of rings, bouquet toss, and
honeymoons.