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

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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.
Gorongosa National Park, Mozambique, Wildlife, lions
Safari
NP Gorongosa, Mozambique

The Wild Heart of Mozambique shows Signs of Life

Gorongosa was home to one of the most exuberant ecosystems in Africa, but from 1980 to 1992 it succumbed to the Civil War waged between FRELIMO and RENAMO. Greg Carr, Voice Mail's millionaire inventor received a message from the Mozambican ambassador to the UN challenging him to support Mozambique. For the good of the country and humanity, Carr pledged to resurrect the stunning national park that the Portuguese colonial government had created there.
Young people walk the main street in Chame, Nepal
Annapurna (circuit)
Annapurna Circuit: 1th - Pokhara a ChameNepal

Finally, on the way

After several days of preparation in Pokhara, we left towards the Himalayas. The walking route only starts in Chame, at 2670 meters of altitude, with the snowy peaks of the Annapurna mountain range already in sight. Until then, we complete a painful but necessary road preamble to its subtropical base.
Architecture & Design
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Boats on ice, Hailuoto Island, Finland.
Adventure
Hailuoto, Finland

A Refuge in the Gulf of Bothnia

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The Crucifixion in Helsinki
Ceremonies and Festivities
Helsinki, Finland

A Frigid-Scholarly Via Crucis

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Nahuatl celebration
Cities

Mexico City, Mexico

mexican soul

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Obese resident of Tupola Tapaau, a small island in Western Samoa.
Meal
Tonga, Western Samoa, Polynesia

XXL Pacific

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Islamic silhouettes
Culture

Istanbul, Turkey

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Spectator, Melbourne Cricket Ground-Rules footbal, Melbourne, Australia
Sport
Melbourne, Australia

The Football the Australians Rule

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Traveling
Boat Trips

For Those Becoming Internet Sick

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Ethnic
Nelson to Wharariki, Abel Tasman NP, New Zealand

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Got2Globe Photo Portfolio

days like so many others

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History
Monument Valley, USA

Indians or Cowboys?

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São Miguel Island, Dazzling Colors by Nature
Islands
São Miguel (Azores), Azores

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Northern Lights, Laponia, Rovaniemi, Finland, Fire Fox
Winter White
Lapland, Finland

In Search of the Fire Fox

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Almada Negreiros, Roça Saudade, Sao Tome
Literature
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Nature
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Mother Armenia Statue, Yerevan, Armenia
Autumn
Yerevan, Armenia

A Capital between East and West

Heiress of the Soviet civilization, aligned with the great Russia, Armenia allows itself to be seduced by the most democratic and sophisticated ways of Western Europe. In recent times, the two worlds have collided in the streets of your capital. From popular and political dispute, Yerevan will dictate the new course of the nation.
Terraces of Sistelo, Serra do Soajo, Arcos de Valdevez, Minho, Portugal
Natural Parks
Sistelo, Peneda-Gerês, Portugal

From the “Little Portuguese Tibet” to the Corn Fortresses

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UNESCO World Heritage
Serengeti NP, Tanzania

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Ooty, Tamil Nadu, Bollywood Scenery, Heartthrob's Eye
Characters
Ooty, India

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Beaches
PN Manuel Antonio, Costa Rica

Costa Rica's Little-Big National Park

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Religion
Marinduque, Philippines

When the Romans Invade the Philippines

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Back in the sun. San Francisco Cable Cars, Life Ups and Downs
On Rails
San Francisco, USA

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Society
Talkeetna, Alaska

Talkeetna's Alaska-Style Life

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the projectionist
Daily life
Sainte-Luce, Martinique

The Nostalgic Projectionist

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Maria Jacarés, Pantanal Brazil
Wildlife
Miranda, Brazil

Maria dos Jacarés: the Pantanal shelters such Creatures

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Bungee jumping, Queenstown, New Zealand
Scenic Flights
Queenstown, New Zealand

Queenstown, the Queen of Extreme Sports

In the century. XVIII, the Kiwi government proclaimed a mining village on the South Island "fit for a queen".Today's extreme scenery and activities reinforce the majestic status of ever-challenging Queenstown.