Ancient Tales is the oldest extant book of myth biography in Japan. There are such records in the book; In Japanese history, the mythical brother and sister gods Nagi and Nami established "the imperial pillar of heaven". They walked around the pillar, held a ceremony, and then they met. This is called the originator of Japanese wedding ceremonies.
In the 7th-8th century, the marriage system began to learn and imitate the system of the Tang Dynasty in China. The system requires that men 15 years old can get married and women 13 years old can get married. At that time, the form of marriage was mostly "wife visit marriage". That is, both men and women still live in their parents' homes. In the evening, the man goes to the woman's house to facilitate the man to leave the woman's house before dawn. This system was the result of matriarchal society at that time.
During the Heian period (8th century-12nd century), there were three forms of marriage, namely, visiting wife's marriage, husband's marriage and in-laws marriage. The so-called husband-and-wife marriage is a form of marriage in which the woman is the main body of marriage and the husband comes to the door, which is just the opposite of marriage between a man and a woman. The so-called marriage (also called wife-recruiting marriage) means that the woman goes to the man's house to live with her husband. This new form of marriage was rare at that time. At the same time, men and women in this period are special in the process of engagement. "Visiting marriage" is popular among aristocrats, that is, a man woos his wife through letters with courtship and songs. If you get an agreed response, the man can quietly go to the woman's residence and live with her. If you stay together for three consecutive nights, it means that the marriage relationship is established. Of course, if the man doesn't come back later, the marriage will be dissolved automatically after 3 years and the divorce will be announced. This form is a bit like the feeling of modern love. "Visiting marriage" system is very popular in all walks of life in this era, from aristocrats to ordinary people. The third day of "visiting marriage" is called "Lu Xiu", that is, both men and women announce their marriage to the woman's parents and relatives and entertain relatives and friends. The son-in-law and his father-in-law meet for the first time and drink with each other. This is the so-called "exposure banquet" (that is, the wedding banquet). No matter what form of marriage, we fully respect the ideas of both men and women. Before the engagement, it is not made public. Once it is made public, you must get married. Therefore, the form of publicity is called "publicity". From the current point of view, this is a form of acting first, which is really intriguing. With the changes of the times, history began to enter the Kamakura era (12nd century-14th century), and warriors began to replace nobles as the central force on the political stage. During this period, even in the form of husband-in-law marriage, more and more women went to live with their husbands after marriage. This is because with the establishment of the feudal system, the consciousness of "patriarchy" is getting stronger and stronger.
During the Muromachi period (14th century-16th century), marriage gradually became the mainstream form of marriage. During the Warring States period, warriors fought for the world, and powerful warriors joined forces to expand their power through marriage to contain other powerful enemies. Therefore, political marriage became popular among samurai families, and the corresponding marriage etiquette also changed. Wedding customs such as changing dresses after marriage, giving gifts to relatives and friends, and visiting relatives and friends began to be determined, and the wedding began to become big and grand. This situation developed during the Antu Taoshan period (1mid-6th century-1early 7th century) and continued until the Edo period when the samurai were in power for a long time (17-19th century). On the wedding day, the groom hung a portrait of "Gaosha Lao Wei" on the niche, and placed a Penglai mountain-shaped bonsai decorated with cranes and turtles symbolizing longevity. Relatives and friends began to gather at the groom's house, toasting each other in front of the niche and wishing their wedding. At this time, accompanied by her brother, the bride went to the groom's house in a sedan chair or carriage with cosmetics, cookers and other "dowry utensils". The wedding ceremonies in this period were closely related to the traditional Japanese religion-"Shinto". During the Edo period, the customs of introducing the marriage partner, receiving the bride price, playing the important role of parents at the wedding (that is, marriage introducer), and face-to-face "blind date" between men and women in front of official witnesses began to appear and have continued to this day. On the other hand, in some areas and at the bottom of society, the form of "mother-in-law marriage" in which the man lives in the woman's house after marriage still exists.
During the Meiji period, the wedding gradually became a family event, and all family members began to participate. Due to the freedom of religious belief, wedding forms are eclectic and diverse. 1900 (Meiji 33), the wedding of Crown Prince Jiaren (later Emperor Taishō) and Jiujiezi took the form of Shinto "pre-God wedding", which quickly swept the country. During the period of rapid economic development, Christian weddings have also become popular. At present, there are many kinds of weddings and receptions in Japan, including Christian, Buddhist, Buddhist, liberal and so on. Both men and women are free to choose. When young people in modern Japan choose the wedding form, they are generally not limited to their usual religion, but choose according to their own budget, their own aesthetic preferences or the wishes of their elders.