Tokyo, Japan

A Matchmaking Sanctuary


Shinto row
Shinto procession of a traditional wedding held at Meiji Temple in Tokyo.
Spontaneous Matchmaking Art
Guest at a traditional Meiji temple wedding shoots a video.
well measured steps
A seamstress accompanies newlyweds in preparation for a traditional wedding at the Meiji temple.
Pure Precision
Photographer measures light on the face of a bride in a kimono, during a traditional wedding.
the closest
Photo with newlyweds and family at a Shinto wedding at Meiji Temple, Tokyo.
Photo Duo
Professional wedding photographers in action at the Meiji Temple in Tokyo.
last hits
Tailors arrange a wedding kimono for a photo shoot prior to the traditional Meiji temple ceremony.
Front Trio
Professional wedding photographers in action at the Meiji Temple in Tokyo.
Hands for Everything
A seamstress's hands adjust the kimono of a bride about to be married at the Meiji Shinto Temple in Tokyo.
Japanese Elegance
Group photography produced down to the smallest detail.
last minute arrangements
Seamstress touches up traditional wedding kimono at Meiji Temple in Tokyo.
A delicate maneuver
Bride dressed in kimono is fitted into a car after the nuptial ceremony at Meiji Temple.
Traditional Wedding Procession
Priests lead a Shinto procession for a traditional wedding held at Tokyo's Meiji Temple.
socks and suitcases
Elegance and luxury from the waist down, in a Shinto procession of a traditional procession in Meiji Temple.
A long trip
Bride sits with difficulty next to the groom, in the backseat of a limousine.
Tokyo's Meiji Temple was erected to honor the deified spirits of one of the most influential couples in Japanese history. Over time, it specialized in celebrating traditional weddings.

Yoyogi Park appears like a veritable forest in the center of the only seemingly chaotic vastness of precast concrete and neon that it has become. Tokyo.

There are more than 700.000m2 filled with 120.000 trees of 365 different species donated by Japanese people from all over when the Menji Jingu temple was built, from 1915 to 1926.

The eponymous emperor had completed the most productive political-cultural reform on record, including the passing of the court from Kyoto to Edo (the then Tokyo).

After the leader's death, the Japanese parliament (Diet) approved the celebration of his life and work, in the form of a cypress and copper shrine in the heart of the garden in which the Emperor and Empress Shöken used to walk around.

At that time, the views and the company had little to do with today.

Whoever interrupts the circular journey on the Yamanote line and leaves for the first time at the Harajuku station, is surprised by the obvious predominance of youth explained by the confluence near the most sophisticated and refined neighborhoods in the capital, Shibuya, Omotesando and Harajuku himself.

The Majestic and Leafy Approach to the Meiji Temple

He also realizes that cosplay fans, as well as other teenagers on the fringes of the capital's rigid society, have, in that place, a kind of privileged meeting point.

Right next door, but under the cover of vegetation, there is a tori gigantic. From this Shinto portal of the Meiji temple onwards, a wide gravel avenue begins that connects modern-day machine-like Tokyo to the classical city that preceded it until the great destruction caused by the end of World War II.

We walk through it side by side with one of these alternative clans that differ from other passersby due to the eccentric visuals.

Meiji Temple: the Shinto Stronghold of Traditional Marriages

We arrive at what looks like the back of a wing of the Meiji Temple. There, still on gravel, we find a kind of photographic flank of a traditional wedding.

Tailoring arrangements, Meiji temple wedding, Tokyo, Japan

Tailors arrange a wedding kimono for a photo shoot prior to the traditional Meiji temple ceremony.

Three seamstresses adjust different flaps of the bride's white dress. Then they put on her tiny, secular-style shoes.

Composed of the lower section of the costume, they are then dedicated to the headdress wataboshi that protects the top of the wig that another professional touches up masterfully.

Sometimes the tsunokakushi, a model designed to hide the forelock and contain the bride's signs of selfishness and self-centeredness. It thus symbolizes her resolve to become a gentle and obedient wife.

Seamstress and Grooms, Traditional Wedding, Meiji Temple, Tokyo, Japan

A seamstress accompanies newlyweds in preparation for a traditional wedding at the Meiji temple.

Photographs of the bride and groom and their families can be taken before or after the ceremony. In either case, they are seen as an expression of the couple's future and the session that produces them is considered the central stage of marriage. Okay, the conventional wedding photographer we're used to doesn't make sense there.

Japanese Fashion Wedding Photography

The process takes much longer than the Shinto ceremonial that follows. It is carried out in series which means that the same workers take care of grooms after grooms.

The team responsible for the images is made up of several elements dressed with as much or more elegance than the guests. You have at your disposal a millionaire equipment – ​​largely medium-format – that operates in an almost scientific way.

One of those responsible uses a photometer and his own hand, newly freed from its immaculate white fists, to obtain a judicious measurement of the light on the bride's face.

Photographer measures light at bride, traditional wedding, Meiji temple, Tokyo, Japan

Photographer measures light on the face of a bride in a kimono, during a traditional wedding.

Soon after, this is seated and recomposed in a chair beside the groom. Then, members of the small battalion in suit, hold a reflector, raise a flash that fires out of sympathy, at the same time as the invaluable main camera.

Dozens of family members and guests take advantage of the effort behind the professionals, with their small cameras and telephones.

Meiji Temple Wedding Guest, Tokyo, Japan

Guest at a traditional Meiji temple wedding shoots a video.

As if that wasn't enough, there is also an independent photographer colleague who moves and captures images outside the frame worked to the point of exhaustion, if necessary using a shovel and broom, to remove any and all stains from the memory.

As with seamstresses and makeup artists, perfectionism is imperative. May God protect those temple servants – the teams are residents – from the disgrace of failing in the task of projecting the lives of any compatriot couple or of disappointing the families who have invested worlds and funds in the excellence of the ceremony.

The Meiji Temple Millionaire Weddings

In Japan, a wedding for 50 to 100 guests can cost from 20 to 80 euros, of which, if they include a Shinto ceremony, a sum of between 700 and 1000 euros goes to the host shrine.

In 2011, the average spent per wedding was almost 26.500 euros (at the current rate of the yen), 411 per guest. In turn, the average total return obtained from the guests was 17.300 euros. Only money is expected, and some couples even determine a fixed amount to help cover the always high costs.

Seamstresses set kimono, traditional wedding, Meiji temple, Tokyo, Japan

A seamstress's hands adjust the kimono of a bride about to be married at the Meiji Shinto Temple in Tokyo.

The hiring of the groom's suit costs 500 euros. The 5 kimonos and dresses worn by the bride can easily exceed 8 thousand euros.

As soon as the session with the protagonists ends, the group photographs take place. First, with the direct family around the newlyweds, they still and always on a thick, round gray carpet.

Group Photography, Meiji Traditional Temple Wedding, Tokyo, Japan

Group photography produced down to the smallest detail.

Then, prominently displayed, but in the company of the most intimate guests, in chairs arranged on several levels and in an almost pyramidal shape. Although restricted, the entourage is numerous. An assistant photographer uses a miniature tambourine to get everyone's attention.

Wedding photographers, Meiji temple, Tokyo, Japan

Professional wedding photographers in action at the Meiji Temple in Tokyo.

Only this group attends the religious ceremony. As a rule, dozens of other guests only attend the party that follows.

In the temple, the bride and groom's guests begin by being led to different rooms and instructed about their participation.

Shinto Rites and Rituals that Bless the Marriage

Then they wait for the entrance of the procession that a Shinto priest leads through the outer court, followed by two mikos (young religious women) and by the bride and groom who another helper protects from the elements with a red sun hat.

Grooms in procession, traditional wedding, Meiji temple, Tokyo, Japan

Grooms followed by family members and guests during a traditional Meiji temple wedding.

After the entrance to this procession, all present bow reverently to the altar. The priest intones a little speech and brandishes a haraigushi (a branch of a sacred tree with strips of cloth or paper tied together). Finally, he sings an evocation of several gods and declares the bride and groom married.

The spirited phase of the ceremony arrives. One of mikos brings sake to the betrothed and serves it in small glasses. The groom drinks first in three goals, the bride does the same. The drink is also served to the parents of both and shared between all. The last of the consecrations comes under the shared cry of “omedeto gozimasu" (Happy birthday).

Then, the groom reads the marital vows, the miko read the date of marriage and the names of the bride and groom. As husband and wife, they carry out an offer of tamagushi (small branches of such a sacred tree) to the spirits of Nature. Everyone present bows twice, claps their hands and bows again.

Luxury Rings, Clothes, Bags and Other Props: Very Fauscious Religious Weddings

More and more couples exchange rings. Until some time ago, only a small percentage of Japanese people did. Then, in the 60s, the powerful diamond company De Beers launched a marketing offensive in the country and seduced Japanese women with television and press images that promoted diamonds as a symbol of sexuality and Western ostentation.

Traditional Wedding Procession, Meiji Temple, Tokyo, Japan

Priests lead a Shinto procession for a traditional wedding held at Tokyo's Meiji Temple.

The ceremony we witnessed ends and the same procession that entered the temple takes the opposite route.

We noticed that all women hold their suitcases and purses that match the clothes, invariably, of the most reputable Western brands.

Guest legs, traditional wedding, Meiji temple, Tokyo, Japan

Elegance and luxury from the waist down, in a Shinto procession of a traditional procession in Meiji Temple.

The procession ends at the end of the temple and the car park is not far away. Guests access their cars, the groom, to the limousine that awaits the newlyweds.

But the bride cannot move under so much fabric, let alone assume a position other than upright, or get into a car.

Bride is swathed in traditional wedding car, Meiji temple, Tokyo, Japan

A bride dressed in a kimono is fitted into a car after the nuptial ceremony at the Meiji Temple.

The husband, from the inside, and a family member, from the outside, help to seat her in her place, an exercise that even requires the opening of the roof.

Once the distressing fit is achieved, the driver transports the couple to the party to take place in any hotel room in the city.

Bride gets in car, traditional wedding, Meiji temple, Tokyo, Japan

Bride sits with difficulty next to the groom, in the backseat of a limousine.

In the photograph wing of the sanctuary, the assigned teams treat one more couple. Another is led to the entrance of the temple by a new Shinto entourage.

We are on a favorable day of the superstitious Japanese calendar rokuyo. The Meiji temple weddings seem to have no end.

Tokyo, Japan

Tokyo's fashion

In ultra-populous and hyper-coded Japan, there is always room for more sophistication and creativity. Whether national or imported, it is in the capital that they begin to parade the new Japanese looks.
Tokyo, Japan

Japanese Style Passaport-Type Photography

In the late 80s, two Japanese multinationals already saw conventional photo booths as museum pieces. They turned them into revolutionary machines and Japan surrendered to the Purikura phenomenon.
Las Vegas, USA

World Capital of Weddings vs Sin City

The greed of the game, the lust of prostitution and the widespread ostentation are all part of Las Vegas. Like the chapels that have neither eyes nor ears and promote eccentric, quick and cheap marriages.
Jaffa, Israel

Where Tel Aviv Settles Always in Party

Tel Aviv is famous for the most intense night in the Middle East. But, if its youngsters are having fun until exhaustion in the clubs along the Mediterranean, it is more and more in the nearby Old Jaffa that they tie the knot.
Tokyo, Japan

The Endless Night of the Rising Sun Capital

Say that Tokyo do not sleep is an understatement. In one of the largest and most sophisticated cities on the face of the Earth, twilight marks only the renewal of the frenetic daily life. And there are millions of souls that either find no place in the sun, or make more sense in the “dark” and obscure turns that follow.
Japan

The Beverage Machines Empire

There are more than 5 million ultra-tech light boxes spread across the country and many more exuberant cans and bottles of appealing drinks. The Japanese have long since stopped resisting them.
Tokyo, Japan

Pachinko: The Video - Addiction That Depresses Japan

It started as a toy, but the Japanese appetite for profit quickly turned pachinko into a national obsession. Today, there are 30 million Japanese surrendered to these alienating gaming machines.
Tokyo, Japan

Disposable Purrs

Tokyo is the largest of the metropolises but, in its tiny apartments, there is no place for pets. Japanese entrepreneurs detected the gap and launched "catteries" in which the feline affections are paid by the hour.
Tokyo, Japan

The Fish Market That Lost its Freshness

In a year, each Japanese eats more than their weight in fish and shellfish. Since 1935, a considerable part was processed and sold in the largest fish market in the world. Tsukiji was terminated in October 2018, and replaced by Toyosu's.
Tokyo, Japan

The Emperor Without Empire

After the capitulation in World War II, Japan underwent a constitution that ended one of the longest empires in history. The Japanese emperor is, today, the only monarch to reign without empire.
Kyoto, Japan

An Almost Lost Millennial Japan

Kyoto was on the US atomic bomb target list and it was more than a whim of fate that preserved it. Saved by an American Secretary of War in love with its historical and cultural richness and oriental sumptuousness, the city was replaced at the last minute by Nagasaki in the atrocious sacrifice of the second nuclear cataclysm.
Tokyo, Japan

Tokyo's Hypno-Passengers

Japan is served by millions of executives slaughtered with infernal work rates and sparse vacations. Every minute of respite on the way to work or home serves them for their inemuri, napping in public.
Lion, Elephants, PN Hwange, Zimbabwe
Safari
PN Hwange, Zimbabwe

The Legacy of the Late Cecil Lion

On July 1, 2015, Walter Palmer, a dentist and trophy hunter from Minnesota killed Cecil, Zimbabwe's most famous lion. The slaughter generated a viral wave of outrage. As we saw in PN Hwange, nearly two years later, Cecil's descendants thrive.
Hikers on the Ice Lake Trail, Annapurna Circuit, Nepal
Annapurna (circuit)
Annapurna Circuit: 7th - Braga - Ice Lake, Nepal

Annapurna Circuit – The Painful Acclimatization of the Ice Lake

On the way up to the Ghyaru village, we had a first and unexpected show of how ecstatic the Annapurna Circuit can be tasted. Nine kilometers later, in Braga, due to the need to acclimatize, we climbed from 3.470m from Braga to 4.600m from Lake Kicho Tal. We only felt some expected tiredness and the increase in the wonder of the Annapurna Mountains.
coast, fjord, Seydisfjordur, Iceland
Architecture & Design
Seydisfjordur, Iceland

From the Art of Fishing to the Fishing of Art

When shipowners from Reykjavik bought the Seydisfjordur fishing fleet, the village had to adapt. Today, it captures Dieter Roth's art disciples and other bohemian and creative souls.
Full Dog Mushing
Adventure
Seward, Alaska

The Alaskan Dog Mushing Summer

It's almost 30 degrees and the glaciers are melting. In Alaska, entrepreneurs have little time to get rich. Until the end of August, dog mushing cannot stop.
Ceremonies and Festivities
Pentecost Island, Vanuatu

Naghol: Bungee Jumping without Modern Touches

At Pentecost, in their late teens, young people launch themselves from a tower with only lianas tied to their ankles. Bungee cords and harnesses are inappropriate fussiness from initiation to adulthood.
Sheets of Bahia, Eternal Diamonds, Brazil
Cities
Sheets of Bahia, Brazil

Lençóis da Bahia: not Even Diamonds Are Forever

In the XNUMXth century, Lençóis became the world's largest supplier of diamonds. But the gem trade did not last as expected. Today, the colonial architecture that he inherited is his most precious possession.
young saleswoman, nation, bread, uzbekistan
Meal
Fergana Valley, Uzbekistan

Uzbekistan, The Nation That Does Not Lack Bread

Few countries employ cereals like Uzbekistan. In this republic of Central Asia, bread plays a vital and social role. The Uzbeks produce it and consume it with devotion and in abundance.
Saida Ksar Ouled Soltane, festival of the ksour, tataouine, tunisia
Culture
Tataouine, Tunisia

Festival of the Ksour: Sand Castles That Don't Collapse

The ksour were built as fortifications by the Berbers of North Africa. They resisted Arab invasions and centuries of erosion. Every year, the Festival of the Ksour pays them the due homage.
Reindeer Racing, Kings Cup, Inari, Finland
Sport
Inari, Finland

The Wackiest Race on the Top of the World

Finland's Lapps have been competing in the tow of their reindeer for centuries. In the final of the Kings Cup - Porokuninkuusajot - , they face each other at great speed, well above the Arctic Circle and well below zero.
Herd in Manang, Annapurna Circuit, Nepal
Traveling
Annapurna Circuit: 8th Manang, Nepal

Manang: the Last Acclimatization in Civilization

Six days after leaving Besisahar we finally arrived in Manang (3519m). Located at the foot of the Annapurna III and Gangapurna Mountains, Manang is the civilization that pampers and prepares hikers for the ever-dreaded crossing of Thorong La Gorge (5416 m).
Ethnic
São Nicolau, Cape Verde

Photography of Nha Terra São Nicolau

The voice of the late Cesária Verde crystallized the feeling of Cape Verdeans who were forced to leave their island. who visits São Nicolau or, wherever it may be, admires images that illustrate it well, understands why its people proudly and forever call it their land.
Sunset, Avenue of Baobabs, Madagascar
Got2Globe Photo Portfolio

days like so many others

Entrance porch in Ellikkalla, Uzbekistan
History
Uzbekistan

Journey through the Uzbekistan Pseudo-Roads

Centuries passed. Old and run-down Soviet roads ply deserts and oases once traversed by caravans from the Silk RoadSubject to their yoke for a week, we experience every stop and incursion into Uzbek places, into scenic and historic road rewards.
VIP lights
Islands
Moyo Island, Indonesia

Moyo: An Indonesian Island Just for a Few

Few people know or have had the privilege of exploring the Moyo nature reserve. One of them was Princess Diana who, in 1993, took refuge there from the media oppression that would later victimize her.
St. Trinity Church, Kazbegi, Georgia, Caucasus
Winter White
Kazbegi, Georgia

God in the Caucasus Heights

In the 4000th century, Orthodox religious took their inspiration from a hermitage that a monk had erected at an altitude of 5047 m and perched a church between the summit of Mount Kazbek (XNUMXm) and the village at the foot. More and more visitors flock to these mystical stops on the edge of Russia. Like them, to get there, we submit to the whims of the reckless Georgia Military Road.
shadow vs light
Literature
Kyoto, Japan

The Kyoto Temple Reborn from the Ashes

The Golden Pavilion has been spared destruction several times throughout history, including that of US-dropped bombs, but it did not withstand the mental disturbance of Hayashi Yoken. When we admired him, he looked like never before.
Horseback riding in shades of gold
Nature
El Calafate, Argentina

The New Gauchos of Patagonia

Around El Calafate, instead of the usual shepherds on horseback, we come across gauchos equestrian breeders and others who exhibit, to the delight of visitors, the traditional life of the golden pampas.
Sheki, Autumn in the Caucasus, Azerbaijan, Autumn Homes
Autumn
Sheki, Azerbaijan

autumn in the caucasus

Lost among the snowy mountains that separate Europe from Asia, Sheki is one of Azerbaijan's most iconic towns. Its largely silky history includes periods of great harshness. When we visited it, autumn pastels added color to a peculiar post-Soviet and Muslim life.
El Tatio Geisers, Atacama, Chile, Between ice and heat
Natural Parks
El Tatio, Chile

El Tatio Geysers – Between the Ice and the Heat of the Atacama

Surrounded by supreme volcanoes, the geothermal field of El Tatio, in the Atacama Desert it appears as a Dantesque mirage of sulfur and steam at an icy 4200 m altitude. Its geysers and fumaroles attract hordes of travelers.
Lonely Walk, Namib Desert, Sossusvlei, Namibia, dune base acacia
UNESCO World Heritage
Sossusvlei, Namíbia

The Namibe Dead End of Sossusvlei

When it flows, the ephemeral Tsauchab river meanders 150km from the mountains of Naukluft. Arriving in Sossusvlei, you get lost in a sea of ​​sand mountains that compete for the sky. The natives and settlers called it a swamp of no return. Anyone who discovers these far-fetched parts of Namibia always thinks of returning.
female and cub, grizzly footsteps, katmai national park, alaska
Characters
PN Katmai, Alaska

In the Footsteps of the Grizzly Man

Timothy Treadwell spent summers on end with the bears of Katmai. Traveling through Alaska, we followed some of its trails, but unlike the species' crazy protector, we never went too far.
La Digue, Seychelles, Anse d'Argent
Beaches
La Digue, Seychelles

Monumental Tropical Granite

Beaches hidden by lush jungle, made of coral sand washed by a turquoise-emerald sea are anything but rare in the Indian Ocean. La Digue recreated itself. Around its coastline, massive boulders sprout that erosion has carved as an eccentric and solid tribute of time to the Nature.
Kongobuji Temple
Religion
Mount Koya, Japan

Halfway to Nirvana

According to some doctrines of Buddhism, it takes several lifetimes to attain enlightenment. The shingon branch claims that you can do it in one. From Mount Koya, it can be even easier.
Train Kuranda train, Cairns, Queensland, Australia
On Rails
Cairns-Kuranda, Australia

Train to the Middle of the Jungle

Built out of Cairns to save miners isolated in the rainforest from starvation by flooding, the Kuranda Railway eventually became the livelihood of hundreds of alternative Aussies.
city ​​hall, capital, oslo, norway
Society
Oslo, Norway

A Overcapitalized Capital

One of Norway's problems has been deciding how to invest the billions of euros from its record-breaking sovereign wealth fund. But even immoderate resources don't save Oslo from its social inconsistencies.
Fruit sellers, Swarm, Mozambique
Daily life
Enxame Mozambique

Mozambican Fashion Service Area

It is repeated at almost all stops in towns of Mozambique worthy of appearing on maps. The machimbombo (bus) stops and is surrounded by a crowd of eager "businessmen". The products offered can be universal such as water or biscuits or typical of the area. In this region, a few kilometers from Nampula, fruit sales suceeded, in each and every case, quite intense.
savuti, botswana, elephant-eating lions
Wildlife
Savuti, Botswana

Savuti's Elephant-Eating Lions

A patch of the Kalahari Desert dries up or is irrigated depending on the region's tectonic whims. In Savuti, lions have become used to depending on themselves and prey on the largest animals in the savannah.
The Sounds, Fiordland National Park, New Zealand
Scenic Flights
Fiordland, New Zealand

The Fjords of the Antipodes

A geological quirk made the Fiordland region the rawest and most imposing in New Zealand. Year after year, many thousands of visitors worship the sub-domain slashed between Te Anau and Milford Sound.
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