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Friday 19 April 2013

A Trip To Japan


   Spring in Japan is famous for its beautiful cherry blossom.  I was so glad to be able to see it when I went to Nagoya (3rd most populated city in Japan) last week, even though it was a few days late for the full blooming.
 








  I have always been fond of Japanese gardens and you can see the reason.











 Spring is not only a tourist season but also the wedding season for Japanese people. On a visit to a Shrine (“Shinto Shrine” in Japanese), where people worship and pray for good fortune as well as hold wedding ceremonies, I witnessed several traditional Japanese weddings in progress.   
  A high percentage of Japanese still prefer a traditional, or “Shinto”, wedding over a Western wedding. Here, the bride in traditional white kimono and the groom in black formal kimono, and their family members were on their way to the ceremony.



 

The white hood-like headwear on the bride symbolizes the bride's beginning to become a gentle and obedient wife.

 

The Shinto wedding is usually a small-scale affair with only family members and close relatives attending. 




   During the actual ceremony, music and dance were performed before the bride and groom exchanged vows.



 


14 comments:

George said...

These are beautiful photos. I especially enjoyed your pictures of the wedding. I was able to see the cherry trees in Washington, DC, in bloom several years ago.

Noushka said...

A very interesting post!
I also love Japanese gardens so these pics are my favourite!
Do they host a variety of birds and fauna in general?
If so it must be such a treat to take bird pics in such magnificent gardens!
Wonderful trip..... like I was there!
Thanks for sharing!

TexWisGirl said...

i love the water scenes. the blossoms are beautiful.

Bob Bushell said...

Beautiful cherry blossom, and what about the building, superb.

chica said...

Que bela viagem e fizeste fotos lindas e diferentes! Adorei! abraços,chica

Montanagirl said...

It's so beautiful there! Very nice photos.

john said...

If you have to get married, I guess the Shinto marriage is a good way to go. Great photos, especially the Cherry blossoms. My only brush with Japan is a few long layovers at the Tokyo Airport. It's my favorite airport because of the fish aquariums.

Breathtaking said...

Beautiful images of both the typical Japanese gardens and the traditional Shinto wedding where the bride and groom look so elegant.

I have been fortunate to see for myself the cherry blossoms in the lovely Japanese gardens,and even tried to mimic one in my own garden, including Koi in the ponds,
but not as successfully or as naturally as the Japanese, who do this so well.Thank you for such a good post.


Irma said...

Beautiful images of Japanese gardens.
The traditional wedding, the bride and groom are very elegant.
Have a great weekend.
Regards, Irma from Netherlands

Helma said...

A beautiful blog Friend of HK.
I see a lot of beautiful nature with water, lakes and blossoms. also a lot of ceremony.
Very nice series of your trip to Japan :-)

Joke (Joke's Camera) said...

What an excellent and interesting blog. How wonderful that you could go to Japan, to see all these beauty and to attend a traditional wedding. Great shots. Greetings, Joke

Linda said...

A beautiful series of photos!

Giga said...

Piękny ogród japoński, kwitnące wiśnie oraz tradycyjny ślub. Pozdrawiam.
Beautiful Japanese garden, flowering cherries and a traditional wedding. Yours.

Unknown said...

Last two posts quite different than usual..thanks for sharing your trip to Japan..very enjoyable!