Here comes the bride: Japanese weddings, Shinto style

Japan, as in many countries, has its own unique and traditional way of celebrating weddings — the Shinto way. Despite the growing popularity of Western-style weddings, many couples still opt to get married in a Shinto ceremony, wishing to have the same beautiful wedding that their parents and grandparents had. Nowadays, Shinto weddings are infused with Western practices like exchanging vows and rings and cutting cake, and it is in such weddings that the elaborate old-age traditions mix with modern-age romance.

Many Japanese marriages have resulted from mi-ai, and it is for this reason that mi-ai is still widely practiced today. Mi-ai is an interview between a man and a woman, with a view to marriage. It is arranged by a nakoudo or a go-between. It is not compulsory for the two sides to wed; mi-ai simply provides an opportunity for a man and a woman to get to know each other well enough so they can make an informed decision regarding future family life.

If and when the two sides decide to go ahead with the relationship after some time of getting to know each other, the nakoudo arranges for the engagement to take place formally with a ceremony called yui-no. The families of both sides meet to dine and wine together (wine, meaning sake, of course) as a sign that the two families will soon be united.

Japinoy.com 1st year anniversary celebration

Japinoy anniv

It was the Japinoy.com 1st year anniversary celebration on Sunday, May 27th. We had a simple karaoke party at Music 21, Jupiter, Makati.

We were a small bunch and a couple of our friends from Philippine NANA Day also came to celebrate.

It’s so great to have met everyone who I made friends with online, like Karaoke Queen Spitz-san and Kendama Queen L’ara~en~ciel.

Kat-san is forever the life of the party. She never seems to run out of battery. Hehe.

We had a little trivia game about Japan, then the Kendama contest and a J-movie raffle (which Kat-san won). Then more singing!!

I hope M21 will update their Japanese song list soon…otherwise, I will probably tag along Spitz-san (and drag Wigent with me) to SM North Edsa to sing Karaoke with Kumyoung!

I look forward to another year of Japinoy…5 years, 10 years…we will be here to stay!

www.japinoy.com – It’s everything Japanese for the Pinoy!

Gackt Plays Medieval Warlord (Furin Kazan, NHK)

Singer Gackt (photo right) continues to diversify and has filmed his first role in an NHK taiga drama series. In an episode of the ongoing series “Fuurinkazan” to be aired on June 17, he makes his first appearance as the historical figure Uesugi Kenshin (1530-1578), one of the many powerful warlords of the Sengoku period. Yesterday at NHK’s studio in Tokyo, he filmed scenes with star Uchino Masaaki (39, center), who plays the samurai Yamamoto Kansuke (1493-1561), and veteran actor Ogata Ken (69, left). In his 9th taiga series, Ogata plays Usami Sadamitsu (1489-1564), military strategist to Uesugi. Yamamoto is best known for his battle plan which led to victory over Uesugi at Kawanakajima. But believing his plan to have failed, he charged headlong into the enemy ranks and died before the battle was won. The title of this year’s taiga is an old expression that means “as fast as the wind, as quiet as the forest, as daring as fire, and immovable as the mountain.”

Source: Japan-Zone.com

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JDorama Review: Gyabooo! Nodame Cantabile

Gyabooo! A Nodame Cantabile Review for Japinoy.com

By: Maneki Neko

Synopsis: Based on the successful manga series by Ninomiya Tomoko, Nodame Cantabile is a romantic comedy between musical opposites: an arrogant guy who always seeks perfection, and a freespirited girl who abhors hygiene and reading musical scores.

When they met, it was instant attraction for Nodame, and instant repulsion for Chiaki. However, Chiaki slowly began to appreciate Nodame’s talent and character. As they work together on their music, they unwittingly inspire each other to take big risks and further hone their musical talents, and mature as persons, as professionals, and as a couple.

Review: My boyfriend, who saw this in Japan, was actually insisting that we watch it. A couple of online buddies also recommended the series. They were all raves about it, so I thought this should be worth my time. Hehe.My initial reaction is that I didn’t like the numerous anime-ish scenes that the director (or whoever) is so fond of. Gokusen was ok; Nodame was a tad too much. The harisen, the flying Nodame, and the Street Fighter-like punches are a bit out of place, even in a funny series like Nodame, IMHO. Also, the first few episodes dealt mostly with Chiaki’s angst, and his desire to shut himself in his miseries about his ‘career limbo’ sort of drags the story.