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Daily Life: Festival
 Japanese Weddings
This is a picture of a traditional Japanese wedding from the book Customs of Women from 1896. The wedding is performed as a Shinto ritual. Tracing back to around the 3rd century A.D., Shinto is the indigenous religion of Japan that still dominates several ceremonies in Japan such as weddings, blessings of children, and many festivals. It is a religion that is associated with myths, the deification of nature, and purification through water, rice, and salt. Buddhism is the other religion in Japan that reached Japan in 6th century A.D. from India through China and Korea. Most Japanese actually practice both religions at the same time, for example going to Shinto shrines for weddings and Buddhist temples for funerals. However, in recent decades, Christian weddings, complete with Western white wedding dresses, have become extremely popular in Japan, even though most of the Japanese who have them have no affiliation with Christianity. The kimono and white headdress that the bride is wearing in this picture is typical at a Shinto wedding, and, despite the popularity of Christian weddings, is what some brides in Japan still choose to wear.
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