Negatives and anomalies

There are clients who have simply not thought matters through and have regrets about adopting the form even during their faux Christian wedding. In one such case, the bride thought it might have been better to have had a Shinto ceremony at the very time her own ‘Christian style’ wedding was being conducted.

"If we had thought about our parents, we would have had a Japanese style ceremony but we are young, we wanted a more casual style," said Yuko, 30, who added that it was only during the ceremony "that I realised it was important".

http://www.thingsasian.com/stories-photos/2403　

This is evidence that it would be advisable for couples to think more seriously about the form and meaning of their wedding ceremony before embarking on it with regard to their own preferences and the perception of others. With wedding rituals being a central life-cycle event, thoughtlessness towards the form is to be avoided.

Although hardly common practice, there are celebrants who adapt the ceremony to include American Indian prayers within a ‘Christian’ context. There is hardly the opportunity for true adherents of Native Indian spiritual traditions to voice opinion on their prayers being applied in such a way.

"I use an Apache wedding prayer in my ceremony. It works very well, although I had to take out the part about the bear god in the sky," (Mark Kelly – Wedding Celebrant)

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/6067002.stm

If such a practice was being made during what was billed as a Christian-style wedding celebration it could hardly be construed as giving the client what they had paid for. When these prayers are delivered in English and when the clients lack English comprehension, the Japanese are excused from being aware of such inconsistencies.

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There is a Japanese woman known to the author who in later life became a Christian believer. Although her own wedding (some 20 years previously) was a Christian-style wedding she had cause to question whether or not the presiding priest had in fact been genuine. Japanese people ought to be spared this anxiety.

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I felt a little weird [sic] at the chapel cause priest was speaking English even we were all Japanese, singing and saying "amen" even though we're not Christian. Isn't this weird [sic]?

The comment above was made by a young Japanese woman on a blog which can be seen here. Many people think it is weird.

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There is severe downward pressure on pay at the moment. The going rate has dropped from 15k to 10k in my area and the downward pressure continues.

The demand for this style of event has probably peaked. Demographics show that the numbers of people in the 'of marriage' age bracket is on the decline. In some areas of Japan the market for this kind of service is possibly saturated. The inevitable downward slide of the pay scale for part time workers will of course negatively affect some.

The couple often demand a refund and people are sacked if they make the slightest error in performing the ceremony.

As casual labourers, there is hardly the same degree of employment protection and arbitration available to regular employees.

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Some venues can get through 15 or so weddings in a day. In this conveyor belt environment there is a huge constraint on time. One Wedding Minister commented that he was required to finish his part in just 18 minutes. This was apparently at a Wedding Fair but it is believed that a regular service is not a great deal longer.

In the video clip which follows, the Priest is talking extremely fast to get through the vows. The studio presenters comment on the speed of delivery. This clip can be seen on Google's video service under the title 'Funny Japanese Wedding' --- more evidence of mockery of this form.



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Virgin Road

Where did this term originate? In western countries it is almost exclusively referred to as ‘walking down the aisle’. The phrase appears in Japanese pop culture for example TV drama titles, but what is the etymology of the Virgin Road? If it originated in Japan then it was most likely within the last fifty years. Christian-style weddings were very seldom until after WW2 .Given the high rate of promiscuity and sexual license in Japan, it is unsurprising to discover that attitudes to pre-marital sex are very liberal. Due to the fact that the majority of brides are, in actual fact, not virgins; it is inappropriate to refer to the chapel aisle as the ‘Virgin Road’.

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Here is a video originally posted on YouTube. The singer is delivering a rendition of Amazing Grace at a Christian-style wedding in Japan. I wonder if the Pastor is aware of his other videos for example the exotically titled "X-rated Japan Dancehall girls" which features on his channel.

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In an account of a Japanese Chapel based wedding which can be read here, the writer recalls the music playing in the church was 'The ballad of John and Yoko'. As a foreigner, the observer thought it somewhat odd and inappropriate. If you are not familiar with the song here is an except:

Christ you know it ain't easy,
You know how hard it can be.
The way things are going
They're going to crucify me.
The way things are going
They're going to crucify me.

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Stereoyping

There is no archetypal Euro-American Christian wedding ritual. Yet the industry in Japan promotes a narrow stereotyping of the Priesthood. Celebrants even go to the degree of adopting facial hair to appear more ‘priestly’. Despite there being no practical or moral rationale; Western celebrants are preferred to Japanese. Whereas most Japanese churches have a native Bokushi, the high profile activities of the wedding chapels perpetuate the myth that ‘Christian’ chapels ought to have a westerner in the pulpit.

[To the Japanese] if you want it done right, you have to have a foreigner do it. It is an image thing.

(Wedding Celebrant Todd Thicksten)

A shallow appreciation of Christianity is perpetuated by the wedding celebrant’s work in Japan. Equal opportunities issues relating to women becoming celebrants is a subject worthy of further investigation. Gender equality laws prevent agencies from stating that they will only hire men, yet there are no women in the glossy advertisements. Ironically, it is said that part of the popularity of western style weddings is that they represent independence and a higher degree of gender emancipation for women compared to the Shinto ceremony.

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This image is from Zexy's website.

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Japan lags behind the West in areas of employment discrimination. Why does the Church in Japan permit the perpetuation of this kind of discrimination?

To what extent is the point 'a real church has a western pastor' valid?
In this age of communication; why are people not debating the pros and cons of Christian-style weddings which are a central life event?

What protection in law is their for Wedding Pastors who are often part-time, casual workers?

This is a modern phenomena yet misnomers like the 'Virgin Road' have been promoted. Why?