Kamakura Wedding Ceremony

Almost every time I visit the grand Tsurugaoka Hachimangu in Kamakura I get the chance to visit one of their gorgeous traditional wedding ceremonies. The shrine is not only one of the biggest tourists attractions of Kamakura but also very popular with couples all over Kanagawa prefecture and beyond! I saw two ceremonies when I was there a couple of weeks ago, and here are some snapshots of one of them, from the whole ceremony waiting in the shade to the seating at the raised platform before the shrine itself. It was an exceedingly hot and sunny day with temperatures near 34 degrees celsius in the shade!

Shinto Wedding in Kamakura – Tsurugaoka Hachimangu

Almost every time I visit the grand shrine in Kamakura, the Tsurugaoka Hachimangu there seems to be a wedding going on. It’s a great opportunity to see the finest kimono and listen to the thousand of years old ceremonial music being played live. I caught this ceremony a couple of days ago, the bride looked really nervous as she was taking instructions from the priest assistants. Since it’s currently Golden Week here in Japan the shrine was packed with tourists and visitors enjoying the great weather and that in itself should be enough to make any bride nervous! The groom looked much more relaxed. It’s not all that common to see these traditional ceremonies performed out in the open, usually they are confined to the inner sanctum of the shrines. At most you can see the traditional wedding parade if you visit places like the Meiji Jingu in central Tokyo, but this shrine in Kamakura (Kanagawa prefecture) is one of the best for seeing traditional weddings!

Newlyweds

I think I have a hidden talent: wedding photographer. Here’s a happy looking couple whose attention I managed to get through their car window the other week. A white limousine is the way to go even here in Tokyo! But I like the traditional transport too, or why not on foot, or in a traditional kimono?