Kikkoman Corporation

Life in Japan was once considered either hare or ke: Hare pertained to special occasions, while ke referred to the daily routine. In the past, the daily diet was plain and simple; but during celebratory events, numerous dishes were served, the ingredients were often expensive, and the food was colorful and attractively served so as to enrich the festive atmosphere. Probably the most extravagant and elaborate of such feasts were the meals served at weddings.

Weddings are mentioned in Japan’s most ancient legends. It is believed that the very first marriage was celebrated when Katsukeya, a son of Amaterasu Omikami, the sun goddess, married the daughter of another deity. On that occasion, steamed rice and myriad side dishes were served — a feast known as momoe no tsukue, the feast of one hundred dishes.

This banquet revolved around rice wine, fish and auspicious pink-and-white mochi (pounded rice cakes; a pink tint was achieved by pounding the glutinous rice with adzuki beans.) The fish included sea bream, shrimp, abalone and other seafood delicacies that even today are costly and highly prized.

Formalization of the Feast

The formalization of wedding rituals and banquets goes back some 500 years to the Muromachi era (1336-1573), when the culture introduced from China over previous centuries had been completely assimilated and adapted to Japanese tastes. Around this time, specialists in ritual and ceremonial affairs appeared. The practice of using miso and soy sauce as flavorings in cooking was also advanced, and truly tasty methods of preparation had developed.

Marriage was considered the final responsibility of parents toward a daughter, and they usually selected her marriage partner. Once this had been determined, an engagement ceremony was held where gifts were presented to the family of the bride. At one time, a requisite set of six gifts was delivered by messenger to the bride’s home on an auspicious day.

These six gifts were: kosode (a fine kimono); obi (kimono sash); kobu (kelp, a staple of the diet; the word echoes the verb yorokobu, “to be happy”); surume (dried squid; the syllables also correspond to the homophonous readings of the three characters for “happiness,” “stay” and “woman”); tai (sea bream; also a homonym of the word for happy or auspicious); and taru-zake (keg sake; connoting kanai kitaru – “the wife comes and stays happily”).

Even today these gifts may be presented, usually together with an engagement ring and money. The bride’s family serves food and sake (often prepared by a restaurant or caterer) to the messenger, and presents a portion of the engagement money in remuneration for his or her services. Today’s “messenger” is usually the nakodo, the so-called go-between who officiates in the marriage.

Traditional Banquets

The wedding ceremony, konrei, is also known as shugen; literally, “words of celebration.” Food and drink are served in such excess that one textbook for young women written in the early Edo period (1603-1867) recommends that a bride barely touch her lips to the ritual sake and feign eating from the innumerable dishes.

Traditionally, meals were served on low, individual tray tables called zen. The marriage feast was called shichi-go-san zen (“seven-five-three meal”). To begin, seven dishes were served, followed by five dishes, finally ending with three dishes. Each course was served on zen set before those participating in the celebration. Guests were served while seated on tatami, and ate with chopsticks.

Prior to the serving of the meal itself, a plain wooden tray table called a sanbo, which had decorative openings in its pedestal, was set before each person. On the sanbo were served bowls of zoni to accompany sake. Zoni is a clear soup made with katsuodashi (bonito stock) flavored with soy sauce, containing small round mochi cakes, dried cucumber and squid, dried abalone, taro potatoes and other ingredients. Miso was not used, as it “muddies” the soup, suggesting impurity: for a wedding banquet, clear soup was preferred for its connotations of purity.

Zoni was served following the ceremony, while the bride changed from formal white wedding kimono into the kosode kimono received among the engagement presents from the family of the groom. These marriage customs were still quite common in country homes until well into the 1960s.

Contemporary Ceremonies

Most people today marry after meeting by chance and falling in love. Some marriages are still arranged through introductions by relatives or friends, but these are relatively few. Weddings are often held in hotels or wedding halls that have special sanctuaries where the marriage ceremony is performed, and which offer rooms for receptions and parties.

The sanctuary may be of the simple shrine style going back to ancient times in Japan, or of the Christian chapel type; the bride and groom may dress in traditional Japanese kimono or in Western-style apparel. Some wedding receptions involve elaborate, theatrical programs with dramatic entrances and events.

Wedding banquets today are rarely held in the sedate, traditional Japanese style described previously. Guests are seated at tables and enjoy conversation while they eat, and the meal may be Western- or Chinese-style, according to the preference of the bride and groom. Wedding halls and hotels often combine Japanese and Western foods in their banquet menus, using tomato and cream-sauce garnishes alongside traditional soy sauce flavorings, for example.

Both fork-and-knife and chopsticks may be used, as dictated by the style of the courses being served. The meal is generally accompanied by champagne, followed by drinks of individual choice. Popular main dishes may include sashimi and steak, or lobster gratin, rather than dishes chosen for their association with auspicious words or tradition. Japanese wedding banquets today suggest very little of the past, and increasingly reflect the merging of different customs and cultures.

Author’s Profile

Ayao Okumura was born in 1937 in Wakayama Prefecture. As professor at Kobe-Yamate University, he is a specialist in traditional Japanese cuisine. Professor Okumura is also the owner of a cooking studio, Douraku-tei, and is known for his authentic reproductions of historic Japanese dishes and menus. He has authored various texts, including Himiko no Shokutaku (Yoshikawa Kobunkan).