DATELINES:
Conway, Arkansas,
Tuesday, June 24, 2003
and
Sagamihara and Tokyo, Japan,
March 2 - 12, 2003

A Wedding.

A Celebration of Love and Family
Reveals a New Style of Ceremony
For Bride and Groom in Japan.

By Ryohei Tanaka
UCA undergraduate
and former IEP student.

The reason why
I went back to Japan during the spring semester was my brother's marriage, so this journal is about the wedding.

My brother is thirty-three-years old. His name is Ryota, which is like my name, isn't it? He is a doctor, and what he does is look at lung cancer. The bride is twenty-five-years old, and she worked in a bank until their marriage. They have known each other for two years. Her name is Akiko. She is very tall compared to normal Japanese women. Her height is almost the same as mine, which is almost 170 centimeters. My brother is also much taller than she is. He is 190 centimeters tall. Akiko used to play vollyball and still likes it and any kind of sports. She has a brother who is twenty-years old which is my age. Her brother plays basketball now.

When I got out of the arrival entrance in Tokyo Narita Airport, I saw my sister Megumi, nephew Ryousuke, my brother, and mom, Kazue. I was so pleased to see them because I have missed my family since I was away from home.

Quality Time with Family.

We went back to my home, Sagamihara, which is close to Tokyo, where I met my dad, Yoshimitsu. We talked about things that I had done in the USA so far, and I also talked to my dad about my future plans while we were enjoying a family dinner in a Korean barbecue restaurant. I hadn't told my dad about my plans yet until I saw him at that time. Then I told him that I wanted to graduate from UCA (the University of Central Arkansas at Conway). I think he was relieved by the decision because I hadn't talked to him much about it. Anyway, I was glad to talk with my family at that time.

I came up to the wedding in Tokyo on March 8, my brother's birthday.

The first ceremony was on the third floor of the Edomondo Hotel. I think usually there is one wedding in the hotel everyday. I didn't know anything about the hotel until that time, but my friend knew a little bit about it. He said the hotel serves delicious food. The hotel isn't really huge. It's about the same size as the new Wal-Mart in Conway, and it's very clean and gorgeous.

A Break with Tradition.

My brother told me that he was not going to do the traditional Japanese wedding style, which has the tradition of the women wearing a Kimono and having the wedding in the temple. The traditional one is becoming unpopular because the ceremony is very serious. Most Japanese people don't want to be serious for the wedding. The old way has been disappearing since fifteen-to-twenty years ago, but some people still do it. He decided to do a Catholic wedding style.

On that day, I saw my brother wearing the tuxedo and his bride wearing a wedding dress. In the ceremony, his bride came out with her dad, who gave her hands to my brother while the chorus sang a wedding song, entitled the "Virgin Road," the name for the aisle that the bride walks down. Then they stood-up in front of a Christian official, who prayed to them with wishes for being successful in their life together. And they put the ring on their fingers and kissed for forever love. It was really touching for everybody. Some people were crying.

Now We Can Party!

After the ceremony, we moved to the next event, which is the informal gathering on the second floor of the hotel, to celebrate the marriage Japanese style. People have fun, drink and eat with new friends, old friends, teachers, and family. Almost one-hundred-thrity people attended and sat around tables. My brother and his wife sat on the stage. Some people who were very special for them gave a speech. Other people told a joke or sang. My dad served home-made liquor for this ceremony of the marriage, and my sister was master of ceremonies.

It was very funny, interesting, and touching what people did. I had so much fun there. Some of my brother's friends sang and performed a comedy about how my brother and his wife met and fell in love with each other. Akiko's friends also gave a nice speech for them. It is traditional that my brother and his wife give a speech and a flower to their own parents. That was this ceremony's end. After that, my parents gave a marriage's compliment to people who attended the ceremony.

After finishing all of these ceremonies, about forty people, young and old, including myself, attended another party at a bar close to the hotel. We played bingo, drinking and talking. My brother had prepared a special bingo game for the party. The first prize was a year's ticket to Tokyo Disney Land. The second prize was a diamond necklace. I wanted to get them, but somebody else won. Fortunately, I got something called Truster, which examines whether people are lying or honest. After we finished the bingo game, I drank, took pictures, and talked with people. It was fun. My brother and his wife looked like they were also having a lot of fun.

Congratulations, My Brother!

A few days later, I went to see my brother again with my dad. Then I gave the gifts to him and his wife which I had bought in Little Rock: a crystal picture holder, a clock, and glasses, and I told him what I was going to do in the USA and at UCA. He was glad about my decision. While we were having dinner and drinks together, we talked about the wedding and my life. When time came to leave, I said to him, "Congratulations!"

I was so happy to see my brother and his wife on the trip. I'll never forget one of the very important days of his life. I keep it in my mind.