Shinto Wedding
Jul. 31st, 2004 02:12 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ste_noniSaturday – 2:14 pm
We made it back from Kyoto last night without much trouble. However, we got lost on the way to dinner last night. We got in the cab and Nori told him where to go. Unfortunately, he misunderstood. Of course, we didn’t realize this until about 30 minutes after he dropped us off on a street corner and Nori, Eric, and Jenny still weren’t around. After waiting for a while and considering what to do, we got back in a cab and headed back to the hotel. It was our only option. Once there, we asked the concierge to help us. He didn’t have any number for Nori, though, and we had no idea where dinner was supposed to be. Luckily, just as we were running out of options, a guy comes walking through the hotel lobby with a sign with our name on it and a bell. Thankfully, it was Nori calling us with more specific information about where diner was. So, we got back in a cab and headed off to dinner. We arrived there about an hour late, but we were very happy to see Nori, Kan, Kae, and their English friend Karen, whose last name also happens to be Smith. Once we all made it to the restaurant, dinner was great and we all had a fun time.
This morning was Kae and Yuri’s Shinto wedding. We arrived and walked into the room where the familys were preparing. Kae looked absolutely beautiful. She was wearing a white kimono with at least three layers. She had to take baby steps in the kimono because the sleeves were so long. She also had a white veil on her head, but not an American style veil. This veil was white and was sort of like a hood, except that it stopped just above her eyes. Yuri looked like something out of a samurai movie, minus the swords.
Once it was time for the ceremony, we all walked up stairs in two lines – Kae’s family (including us) behind her and Yuri’s family behind him. There was a priest holding a large red parasol above the couple and some attendants walking in front of them. We stopped out in the courtyard for pictures. We all laughed that we felt like we were in a movie because there were dozens of visitors around us taking pictures of us.
We walked across the courtyard and into the actual temple. From there, we sat along our respective sides of the building, with Kae and Yuri in the middle. There was lots of standing and bowing. Unfortunately, I have no idea what was said. Kae and Yuri both sipped sake and exchanged rings. Then we all sipped a bit of sake and these two attendant girls moved around the room shaking theses golden bells on a stick. After that, we moved back out into the courtyard for pictures. Once in the courtyard, Kae took off her veil. Her hair was done beautifully, in a traditional Japanese style with combs and various ornaments. They took one big picture of the Japanese family.
From there, we rode on a small bus to the dinner. We had about nine courses with food that I can’t describe, but it was almost all wonderful. There was sashimi, tofu, soups, and beef filet. Also, to drink, we had champagne, sake, beer, and water.
It was a really cool experience. I keep comparing this trip to a Japanese movie because we have seen so many traditional Japanese things this time. It was so cool to see Kae and her family dressed in these beautiful kimono – I felt like I had traveled back in time. I would have liked to wear a kimono myself – just for the experience.
Here are some pictures of Kae & Yuri's Shinto Wedding
Back to Kyoto for a moment.
Yesterday, we saw several more shrines and temples. We went to one temple that had one thousand and one Buddha statues. There was one huge Buddha in the middle. This building was pretty cool. We also went to this freestanding gate whose name I forget at the moment. There was this huge stairway behind the gate leading up to the palace area. The stairway was in the movie, The Last Samurai. At the top is a series of palaces and temples. There was also a huge bell that is rung 108 times by 17 monks at the stroke of the New Year. One of my favorite things about these buildings is the nightingale floor. Their floors are built so that they sing (squeak) when you walk on them. The floors are built this way so that if an intruder approaches in the middle of the night, he will be heard.
We made it back from Kyoto last night without much trouble. However, we got lost on the way to dinner last night. We got in the cab and Nori told him where to go. Unfortunately, he misunderstood. Of course, we didn’t realize this until about 30 minutes after he dropped us off on a street corner and Nori, Eric, and Jenny still weren’t around. After waiting for a while and considering what to do, we got back in a cab and headed back to the hotel. It was our only option. Once there, we asked the concierge to help us. He didn’t have any number for Nori, though, and we had no idea where dinner was supposed to be. Luckily, just as we were running out of options, a guy comes walking through the hotel lobby with a sign with our name on it and a bell. Thankfully, it was Nori calling us with more specific information about where diner was. So, we got back in a cab and headed off to dinner. We arrived there about an hour late, but we were very happy to see Nori, Kan, Kae, and their English friend Karen, whose last name also happens to be Smith. Once we all made it to the restaurant, dinner was great and we all had a fun time.
This morning was Kae and Yuri’s Shinto wedding. We arrived and walked into the room where the familys were preparing. Kae looked absolutely beautiful. She was wearing a white kimono with at least three layers. She had to take baby steps in the kimono because the sleeves were so long. She also had a white veil on her head, but not an American style veil. This veil was white and was sort of like a hood, except that it stopped just above her eyes. Yuri looked like something out of a samurai movie, minus the swords.
Once it was time for the ceremony, we all walked up stairs in two lines – Kae’s family (including us) behind her and Yuri’s family behind him. There was a priest holding a large red parasol above the couple and some attendants walking in front of them. We stopped out in the courtyard for pictures. We all laughed that we felt like we were in a movie because there were dozens of visitors around us taking pictures of us.
We walked across the courtyard and into the actual temple. From there, we sat along our respective sides of the building, with Kae and Yuri in the middle. There was lots of standing and bowing. Unfortunately, I have no idea what was said. Kae and Yuri both sipped sake and exchanged rings. Then we all sipped a bit of sake and these two attendant girls moved around the room shaking theses golden bells on a stick. After that, we moved back out into the courtyard for pictures. Once in the courtyard, Kae took off her veil. Her hair was done beautifully, in a traditional Japanese style with combs and various ornaments. They took one big picture of the Japanese family.
From there, we rode on a small bus to the dinner. We had about nine courses with food that I can’t describe, but it was almost all wonderful. There was sashimi, tofu, soups, and beef filet. Also, to drink, we had champagne, sake, beer, and water.
It was a really cool experience. I keep comparing this trip to a Japanese movie because we have seen so many traditional Japanese things this time. It was so cool to see Kae and her family dressed in these beautiful kimono – I felt like I had traveled back in time. I would have liked to wear a kimono myself – just for the experience.
Here are some pictures of Kae & Yuri's Shinto Wedding
Back to Kyoto for a moment.
Yesterday, we saw several more shrines and temples. We went to one temple that had one thousand and one Buddha statues. There was one huge Buddha in the middle. This building was pretty cool. We also went to this freestanding gate whose name I forget at the moment. There was this huge stairway behind the gate leading up to the palace area. The stairway was in the movie, The Last Samurai. At the top is a series of palaces and temples. There was also a huge bell that is rung 108 times by 17 monks at the stroke of the New Year. One of my favorite things about these buildings is the nightingale floor. Their floors are built so that they sing (squeak) when you walk on them. The floors are built this way so that if an intruder approaches in the middle of the night, he will be heard.
