Identifier: hildrethsjapanas02hild (find matches)
Title: Hildreth's "Japan as it was and is" : a handbook of old Japan
Year: 1907 (1900s)
Authors: Hildreth, Richard, 1807-1865 Clement, Ernest Wilson, 1860-1941
Subjects: Japan -- History 1185-1868
Publisher: London : K. Paul, Trench, Trubner
Contributing Library: University of California Libraries
Digitizing Sponsor: MSN

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hey begin topound their respective mortars, the man saying, Athousand years! the woman, Ten thousand ! —allusions to the reputed terms of life of the crane andthe tortoise thus invoked for the bride. As the norimonopasses between them, the man pours his cakes into thewomans mortar, and both pound together. What isthus pounded is moulded into two cakes, which are putone upon another and receive a conspicuous place inthe toko1 of the room where the marriage is to becelebrated. The norimono is met within the passage by the bride-groom, who stands in his dress of ceremony ready toreceive it. There is also a woman seated there with alantern, and several others behind her. It was, as alreadymentioned, by the light of this lantern that formerly the 1 The toko, as already described in Chapter XXXII, is a sort of re-cess, or open closet, opposite the entrance, considered the most honor-able place in the room. The above ceremony might call to mind theconfarratio of the ancient Roman marriage.
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MARRIAGE CEREMONIES 179 groom first saw his bride, and, if dissatisfied with her, ex-ercised his right of putting a stop to the ceremony. Thebride, on seeing the bridegroom, reaches to him, throughthe front window of her norimono, her mamori,1 and hehands it to a female servant who takes it into the apart-ment prepared for the wedding and hangs it up. Thebride is also led to her apartment, the woman with thelantern preceding. The marriage being now about to take place, the brideis led by one of her waiting-women into the room whereit is to be celebrated, and is seated there with two femaleattendants on either side. The bridegroom then leaveshis room and comes into this apartment. No other per-sons are present except the mediator and his wife. Theformality of the marriage consists in drinking sake aftera particular manner. The sake is poured out by twoyoung girls, one of whom is called the male butterfly,and the other the female butterfly, — appellations derivedfrom their susu, or sa

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