Spring and summer is the height of wedding season in America, though lately Christmas weddings have become more popular than bad singers on American Idol. In Japan, spring is also a big season for weddings, but the Japanese prefer to bypass the summer vacation season to practice the Oriental art of gettin' hitched in the cool, cool of the fall. Japanese weddings are, as you might expect, highly traditional. Obviously, all weddings are exercises in ancient ritual, the meaning of which eludes all but the most dedicated of folklorist, but compared to general traditions associated with most western weddings, getting married in Japan is a truly amazing experience.
For instance, remember those old movies where the prospective bridegroom had to show up at the house of his intended and ask her father for permission to take his daughter's hand in matrimony? The Japanese are, it must be admitted, a bit more-shall we say formal-than most westerners. An ancient Japanese wedding tradition known as Mi-Ai still takes place today, though it is not quite as stiff and restrictive as in days of yore. Until the turn of the century, the "Mi-Ai" interview of a man and woman was more of a formality than an opportunity to know each other with a view to marriage. The Mi-Ai interview was an occasion for the once and future groom to wrangle an invitation to the house of a possible wifely opportunity. Should the woman have drawn his favor, the prospective groom would signify his intentions by leaving behind a token of his acceptance in the form of a fan. And if the object of the groom's intentions were not as favorably impressed? Well, now that hardly mattered, of course. The Mi-Ai interview
still lives on today in a far less formal arrangement; today the meeting is set up by a mediating go-between with the intention of letting the potential bride and groom get to know each other better. It can only be assumed, I would hope, that if the meeting doesn't impress the prospective bride that she need not go through with the union.
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