Shinto Wedding Rituals And Traditions

A Shinto wedding is a traditional Japanese wedding ceremony that involves intricate rituals and holds deep historical ties to Japanese culture and the Shinto religion. The ceremony is typically a small affair, limited to family, with a reception open to a larger group of friends. The Shinto wedding is centred around themes of purification and involves the ceremonial drinking of sake, with the couple sipping from three cups three times each—a ritual known as nan-nan-san-ku-do. The ceremony also involves the exchange of vows, with the groom reading aloud, and the bride adding her name to the vows. The couple also exchanges rings.

Purification rite

Purification is a central concept in Shinto weddings, as it is in the Shinto faith more broadly. Purification rites are always performed at the start of Shinto religious ceremonies, and the purification of the bridal couple is considered the core of the Shinto wedding.

The purification rite in a Shinto wedding is called Shubatsu-no-gi, or just Shubatsu. This involves a Shinto priest purifying the bride, groom, and guests. All in attendance stand and bow to be symbolically purified. The purpose of the purification is to cleanse the participants of pollution, sins, and uncleanness. This includes bad luck, disease, and guilt.

Purification rituals in Shinto are called harae or harai. The general idea is that harae is the ritual purification, while harai is the act of purification itself. These rituals can be performed on people, places, or objects.

There are various ways to perform harae. One of the simplest is the temizu ritual, where participants rinse their face and hands with pure water. This is done at the start of a shrine visit to make the visitor pure enough to approach the kami, or Shinto deities. Salt is also commonly used as a purifying agent in Shinto. In a wedding context, the bride, groom, and guests are purified by the priest, but the method of purification is not specified. It is possible that water or salt is used, or a haraigushi, a purification wand made from a stick with streamers of white paper or flax. The priest may wave this over the people to be purified.

The concept of purification in Shinto is said to originate with the myth of the god Izanagi, who washed himself free of pollution after visiting his wife in the Land of the Dead.

Prayer

The Shinto priest then reads out a ritual prayer, called the 'Norito', which announces the marriage to the deities and seeks their blessing and protection for the couple. The prayer also promises the couple's eternal happiness together. The 'Norito' is a declaration of the couple's love and dedication to one another before the gods.

The bride and groom then exchange three cups of sacred sake, known as 'San-San-Kudo', or 'nan-nan-san-ku-do'. This ritual is believed to bring blessings from the gods. The couple takes three sips from each of the three cups, for a total of nine sips. This is said to symbolise the sharing of joys and sorrows as a married couple, and also fertility.

The ceremony concludes with the Shinto priest offering Japanese evergreen to the altar, which is said to reflect gratitude to the spirits who blessed the union. The couple then make their own offering, followed by a representative from each family.

Sake exchange

The exchange of sake, or 'San-San-Kudo', is a core ritual of a Shinto wedding. The couple exchange three cups of sake, each time sipping from the cup three times. The cups are of three different sizes: small, medium, and large. The ritual is said to be so powerful that the sip of sacred sake brings blessings from the gods.

The first cup is offered to the groom, who drinks from it and then offers it to the bride. The second cup is first offered to the bride, and then to the groom. The third cup is offered to the groom first, and then the bride (repeating the first exchange). The sake is usually poured by a shrine maiden, or Miko, who stands to the left of the altar. The couple stands in the centre of the room, with their closest family members standing behind tables containing the sake and small fruits.

The ritual may have originated at samurai weddings, though the symbolism of the action and numbers has no clear origin. Some see the ritual as representative of sharing joys and sorrows as a married couple, while others suggest that 'san-san' is a homonym for "birth after birth", suggesting fertility symbolism. Other interpretations include man, woman, and child, or heaven, earth, and man.

After the couple has exchanged vows, the families join in with the drinking of sake, toasting with the traditional cheer of "kanpai" (乾杯).

Wedding vows

A Shinto wedding ceremony is a beautiful and intricate affair, steeped in symbolism and ritual. The wedding vows are a central part of the ceremony, and here is a guide on how to perform them.

The Rituals Before the Vows

Before the vows are exchanged, the Shinto wedding ceremony involves a series of rituals that are rich in meaning and tradition. The ceremony begins with a purification rite, where a Shinto priest purifies the shrine and calls upon the benevolent spirits, or kami, to witness the ceremony. This is followed by a prayer, or Norito, where the priest announces the marriage and offers blessings for the couple's happiness and protection.

The couple then participates in the san-san-ku-do ceremony, a sacred ritual where they exchange and drink sake from three cups of different sizes, taking three sips from each cup. This ritual is said to be the core of a Shinto wedding and is believed to bring blessings from the gods.

The Vows

In a traditional Shinto wedding, the groom reads the wedding vows while the bride listens. The vows are a pledge of love and commitment, where the couple promises to cherish and support each other throughout their married life. The vows are usually spoken by the groom in a loud and clear voice, with the bride adding her name to the vow, making it a joint promise.

The Rituals After the Vows

After the vows are exchanged, the couple participates in several more rituals to seal their union. They receive a sakaki branch, a symbol of the safe end of the ceremony, from the shrine maiden and place it at the altar. This is followed by the exchange of rings, where the groom gives a ring to the bride, and she, in turn, gives him a ring.

The ceremony concludes with a celebration, where all the guests, including the families of the bride and groom, drink sake together. This ritual, known as Shinzoku-hai, symbolises the unity of the two families and their support for the newlywed couple.

The Nakodo

It is also customary to thank the nakodo, or "matchmaker", during the vows. If there is no official matchmaker, a friend or family member may be appointed to fill this role, similar to the "best man" or "bridesmaid" in Western weddings.

Sacred dance

The sacred dance, or 'Kagura Hōnō', is an ancient Shinto dance performed by shrine maidens or 'Mikos' as an offering to the gods. The dance is performed to receive a blessing for the couple and their families. The dance is accompanied by traditional Japanese shrine music played on traditional Japanese musical instruments.

The sacred dance is an integral part of the Shinto wedding ceremony, which is steeped in ritual and symbolism. The ceremony is a relatively new invention, with the first mention of a wedding in a Shinto manual recorded in 1872, and the actual ceremonies only reported in the 1880s. These early Shinto weddings were primarily held for the families of Shinto priests and had little religious significance.

Over time, the Shinto wedding ceremony has evolved, and today it is a small gathering of the couple's immediate family, with friends joining for a reception afterward. The ceremony involves ritual purification, prayers for the couple's happiness and protection, the exchange of vows and rings, and the sharing of sacred sake.

The sacred dance falls as the sixth step in the twelve-step Shinto wedding ceremony. The dance comes after the Shinto Ritual Prayer Reading, where the priest announces the marriage and asks for blessings and protection for the couple. The dance precedes the seventh step, where the couple walks toward the altar and the groom reads the marriage vow.

The sacred dance is performed by shrine maidens, who also lead the procession ceremony and guide the guests into the shrine. The dance is an offering to the gods, and it is believed that this act of devotion will bring blessings to the newlywed couple and their families.

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