Doll's protection and golden knot

- Small pieces of cultural information about wedding in Japan. -

An empress doll wearing the ceremonial attire of a Japanese court lady consisting of twelve layers of unlined kimono / a handicraft by an artisan

My daughter had a wedding on March 4th.  The previous night we had a home party, Hina-matsuri (Dolls-festival).   Dolls are believed to protect people from diseases and misfortunes.  When a daughter is born, a set of hina-dolls are presented to pray for her healthy growth and happiness customarily from the grandparents.  I have displayed hina dolls without interruption since my daughter's first March 3rd.  Prior to her start of the second life stage, we thanked dolls for their good protection of the past years.

Seven-tired set of dolls is grandeur and brightens up the cold Japanese mat room of February.

These are wedding money gift envelopes.  I like the lovely papers and the golden or colored decorative knots which fit to English idiomatic expression "tying the knot".  Families, relatives, and those who are invited to the wedding ceremony are supposed to give a gift of money sometimes along with goods.  The envelopes are traditionally made of Japanese papers, while the red one from her brother and his wife at the lower left is modern and is made of a handkerchief.

My daughter was attracted by a simple and small wooden chapel in the woods of Tsurumi where Flower Exposition was once held. Many Japanese couples choose chapel wedding regardless of their Buddhism or Shintoism background. For one reason, only families and relatives are supposed to attend the ceremony in traditional Japanese style, while everyone is welcome to chapel wedding. She wanted their friends to be the part of the wedding ceremony.

A traditional Japanese fan (suehiro), a small vanity case (hakoseko), and a sheathed dagger (kaiken) are carried in the obi belt, when a bride wears Japanese bridal kimono. The dagger was for both self-protection and the ritual suicide when the bride (of a samurai warrior, not a merchant or a farmer) was insulted or dishonored her husband in feudal age.



A bride wears "hikifurisode", a kimono with long, flowing sleeves and a padded, trailing hem.

Married women wear "tomesode", the most formal black kimono with five family crests and designs along the bottom of the kimono.

There has been the superstition that if a family does not put the dolls away right after the Hina-matsuri, the daughter will be troubled getting married. I'm not so superstitious that I have kept them displayed during the whole March as seasonal decoration.

 These dolls will continue to protect my granddaughter, hopefully granddaughters.

Though marriage and having children is a choice and what is happiness depends on the person, personally I'm happy to be married with children.

Cheers to the well-being of all the girls young and old!

Sweet white sake made from fermented rice is used as the celebratory drink for the Doll's Festival.

Prayers and celebrations in December

This mansion was built in 1934 as a villa of a posh family of “zaibatsu”, or the plutocracy of a financial combine group, at the mountainside of my home town, Mikage-cho, Kobe.   It was a three-storied pure Japanese style architecture.  It escaped from the air raids of WWII miraculously and was bought by an overseas Chinese merchant.  He opened a Chinese restaurant there.  In the area of  about 1600 tsubo (about 5289 meter square) with a flowing brook and views changing from season to season, he saw an ideal scenery of his homeland Soshu and named it “Soshu-en”.  It was a quality restaurant where many prominent or famous people visited.

Old door plate has been put up even after the owner changed.

People see a symbol tree out of the window which looks like natural stained glass
reflecting the outside nature.

Years later after surviving the Great Hanshin Earthquake (1995), it was restored and renovated into a guest house and restaurant which has the Japanese and Eastern Asia style by the current owner.　Since the wife of the first owner had a private church as a Christian, this place is also used for wedding ceremony and reception.

My son and his wife had a wedding here in 2007.  When he first visited, he felt something nostalgic, a feel of an old house of his grandparents where he would visit as a young child.  My maiden house was not so gorgeous as this mansion but had similarities part by part as a traditional Japanese house.  Many Japanese people would feel the same way.

Pure white silk dress and a bridal bouquet

It was December 7th.  Many of the colorful leaves were on the ground. 
 

The reception room was decorated with colors and plants of the season. 

Usually early December is not so cold in Kobe.

On the third anniversary of their wedding, a baby girl was born as their first child.

She is now one-year-old.

We are celebrating with great specials this month including Christmas.  While I’m happy with personal things, my heart aches to hear sad news one by one.  I've learned my friend was praying, watching over her mother's final battle against her disease, right at the time when I was having a good time at the birthday party. 

This post is going to be long.

I went to Kobe Luminaire again with my camera this year. It has nothing to do with Christmas but was started as a memorial to the lives lost (my childhood friend is one of them) in that earthquake.  Last year, some of the victims of the earthquake were talking about their experiences to the visitors in the booths set up by the Kobe City to keep the memory alive. While walking under the bright arches to citadels, how could I imagine such a record catastrophic earthquake and tsunami would hit Tohoku region on March 11th the next year?    Rudely awakened this year again, more people visited and funds were raised to donate to the stricken area.  These incidents are too harsh to remember but the lessons must be remembered forever in the country prone to big earthquakes. What happened to one region could happen to any region.

"Citadel of Peace" seen from the 24th floor of the Kobe City Hall

The other day our government announced that reactors at the Fukushima Dai-ichi power station cooled to a stable state for the first time since the March 11 disaster. Although few people believe the assertion so far, I hope it be a start of any recovery in real terms for the next year.  It is said “There is a light at the end of the tunnel.”  However, we can’t see the light without going through the tunnel.   No matter how the tunnel looks long and the reconstruction work daunting, I believe Tohoku will surely resurrect like Kobe. 

"Fountain of Prayer"

Illuminations surrounding a fountain was created to wish for the reconstruction of tsunami-hit areas.

Last but not least, I really appreciate visit and comment from each of you throughout the year.  May your days be filled with good health, peace, and love this holiday season and  New Year.