"Il Matrimonio in Giappone"
"The Wedding in Japan"
(Kenjiro)
Ladies and gentlemen, I am very glad to see you again.
When I came to Italy with my friends last year, all of you welcomed us, and I felt very happy.
It is very kind of you to come again tonight to listen to us.
We would like to express my sincere gratitude.
This time I am accompanied with my wife Kaori.
We got married in February, last month, and this travel is our honeymoon.
In Japan, there is a standard mode of wedding which most people follow.
It is quite different from yours in Europe.
According to the Japanese civil law, marriage can be realized only by the will of the persons themselves.But, as for the wedding, it is almost impossible that the bridegroom and bride decide everything.They have to take into consideration the wishes of their parents,and sometimes those of relatives.
For example, the requests of the parents are like these;"Put on more splendid dress at the ceremony!""What kind of dishes will you serve at the reception?These? Really? Oh, No. They look poor.
You must prepare much more gorgeous dinner.Don't forget melon as dessert!"
Their requests are likely to be costly.
I understand that the parents wish the gorgeousness since they love their sons and daughters.
But it cannot be denied that their requests arise from a little pretense; some of them wish to demonstrate the riches of their families.
The result of their pretense is here.This figure shows the average costs that Japanese people
pay for marriage.
(Figure)
The average costs in total amount to 7,942,000 yen. It is about 113,500,000 lire.
What do you think of it?
In Japan, a graduate of a university at the age of 22 is paid about 200,000yen(2,860,000 lire) per month at the start.
Compared with the salary, the costs for marriage seem sky-high.
Looking at this figure, you could understand why they can afford such high expenses.
The parents bear 40 per cent of the total costs while the bridegroom and bride themselves pay only 30 per cent.
You may think it is childish to receive such financial support from the parents.
But if a marrying couple rejects the support, they may be blamed for being undutiful to their parents.
In Japan, undutifulness is still thought to be one of the greatest immoralities.
It is natural that couples want to realize their parents' wishes, a gorgeous wedding.
Therefore they tend to accept the financial support.
Otherwise it would be impossible to act up to expectations of the parents.
There is another reason why the parents offer the support.
In some rural areas, an old custom is still alive.They have to obey it.
The old custom requires many many money-consuming things.In those areas no one could get married without the parents' support.
This tendency in Japan is now changing.Some couples bear most of the marriage costs and do not rely on their parents anymore for the big support.They can do it by making their wedding simple.This change is remarkable especially in cities where few people stick to the old customs.
As for our wedding, we chose a simple and uncostly way.
Our total costs are about half of the average.
Now I am going to show you some photos of our wedding.
These are the costumes we put on at the wedding ceremony.
They are categorized in "Kimono", Japanese traditional clothes.The origin of these wedding costumes is traced back to the Edo era (1606-1868).
Look at my costume. This used be a general formal suit for men in the Edo era.
This style was not limited to weddings.Even in these days the elderly people often put on a costume of this style when they attend a ceremony.
This black jacket is called "haori".You can see white marks near the shoulders.They are marks representing the family line.They are remains of the feudal custom that people used to think much of familiy lines.The trousers are called "hakama".They are long and wide culottes rather than trousers.This stripe pattern is traditional.
Now Kaori is going to explain her costume.
(Kaori)
My costume is called "Shiro-muku".I wore three kimono one over another.The outer one is called "ucikake" made of silk with fine embroidery.
The white symbolizes purity of the bride's heart.
Women never wear shiro-muku for another ceremony.
It is used only for weddings in contrast to "haori" and "hakama".The headgear is called "wata-boshi" which means headgear of cotton.
Originally wata-boshi was designed for the cold weather, but it was diverted to the headgear of brides.
In this photograph, you can see my face clearly.
But long ago faces of brides used to be completely hidden by wata-boshi in order to emphasize modesty, the greatest morality of women in those days.
Ladies here may be interested in the make-up of the bride. Look at this photograph.
I was made up whiter than usual.
The rouge is not pure-red but vermilion.
This is the traditional color of Japanese rouge.
The shape of lips is characteristic.
Under the white headgear I wore a wig with silver ornaments.
Many Japanese girls have yearned for the bride costume since their childhood.
But in reality I was suffering from tightness of kimono and heaviness of the wig.
Besides, it was impossible to go to a rest room with such a heavy costume.
(Kenjiro)
She said that she never wanted to wear the costume again.
Sure.
Kaori, you don't have to marry twice in your life!