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Shinto weddings, , began in Japan during the early 20th century, popularized after the marriage of Crown Prince Yoshihito and his bride, Princess Kujo Sadako. The ceremony relies heavily on Shinto themes of purification, and involves ceremonial sake drinking of three cups three times, the . Shinto weddings are in decline. Fewer Japanese people get married, and those who do often choose Western-style chapel ceremonies.
, literally "wedding before the ," is a Shinto purification ritual (1994). 9780313264313, Greenwood Press. ISBN 9780313264313 that incorporates the exchange of sake between the couple before they are married. The ceremony typically takes 20 to 30 minutes. (2025). 9781462902460, Tuttle Pub.. ISBN 9781462902460 Food items, including salt, water, rice, sake, fruit, and vegetables, are left at a ceremonial wedding altar, which also holds the wedding rings. (2025). 9781136898006, Routledge. ISBN 9781136898006 A Kannushi stands to the right of the altar, while a shrine maiden, , stands to the left. The couple will often stand in the center of the room, while closest family members stand behind tables containing sake and small fruits.
The priest will purify the shrine and call the attention of benevolent spirits, or . Then, the priest announces the beginning of the ceremony, or "three-three-nine-times," reflecting three oaths taken three times, represented by three cups, poured three times, and swallowed in three sips. This often includes three pourings from three cups of increasing sizes. The first, smallest cup, is first poured to the groom, who drinks from it before offering it to the bride. (1985). 9780824810252, University of Hawaii Press. ISBN 9780824810252 The second pouring goes first to the bride, then to the groom. The final pouring goes from the groom first, then the bride (essentially repeating the first pour). The sake aspect of the ceremony is said to be the core of a Shinto wedding. The ritual may have originated at samurai weddings, though the symbolism of the action and numbers has no clear origin. Some see the ritual as representative of sharing joys and sorrows as a married couple, others suggest that is a homonym for "birth after birth," suggesting fertility symbolism. (2025). 9780415866699, Routledge. ISBN 9780415866699 Still others suggest it represents man, woman, and child, or heaven, earth and man.
The couple approaches the altar, where the groom reads his vows while the bride listens. Reflecting a history of arranged marriage in Japan, a , or "matchmaker," will be thanked in the vows. If no matchmaker exists, a friend or family member will be appointed to fill the role, serving a role similar to the "best man" or "bridesmaid." Then, the families join in with the drinking of sake and a traditional cheer of "kanpai". In the final portion of the ceremony, the priest offers Cleyera japonica to the altar, said to reflect gratitude to the spirits who blessed the union. The bride and groom follow with their own offering, then a representative from each family (often the fathers of the bride and groom). The rings are then presented.
Within wedding prayers, the gods Izanagi and Izanami are often invoked. These married gods were part of the Japanese lore of the "first wedding," and are called upon to reflect a harmonious balance within the marriage. Other aspects of the Shinto wedding prayer include calling for the couple to work to maintain a respectful home, and for the couple to have children.
Both and are highly-formal kimono, designed to be worn over the actual kimono and unfastened, and are typically silk or imitation silk. Due to the high cost of new kimono, and the particularly high cost of brand-new formal kimono, a bride may only hire out the ensemble for the day, instead of purchasing it new, or may wear an ensemble passed down through the family or borrowed. Brides typically wear a wig () dressed in a traditional style, dressed in a set of auspiciously designed kanzashi. The bride may change into a red kimono for the wedding reception events after the ceremony for good luck.
Brides may also wear one of two styles of headdress. The headdress, made from a rectangular piece of cloth, often white silk, which covers the high topknot of the -style wig typically worn by the bride. The is said to be worn to veil the bride's metaphorical horns of jealousy, ego and selfishness, and also to symbolize the bride's resolve to become a yamato nadeshiko. The headdress, an all-white hood or cowl, may also be worn as the Japanese equivalent to the Western bridal veil; its purpose is to hide the bride's face from all others except the bridegroom until the end of the wedding ceremony. The was adapted from the , a hood worn outdoors by married women in samurai families from the Muromachi period to Momoyama period, before it was taken up by younger women from the Edo period onwards. Like the it accompanies, the is a symbol of innocence and purity; it is worn only outside and only in accompaniment with the , and is removed during indoor receptions.
Scholars suggest that the adoption of religious wedding ceremonies was driven by the decline of state-sponsored Shinto shrines during the 1880s. A rash of new ceremonies emerged in this period, including visits for newborns and on certain birthdays. (1991). 9780691020525, Princeton University Press. ISBN 9780691020525
This period also saw the rise of the commercial wedding industry, which grew out of collaboratives that lent large venues for wedding ceremonies.
In the 1950s, invoking a single "God of Marriage" during weddings was common, as well as young girls and the bride and groom making offerings to the , who was often seen as a single god with an aspect or "Spirit" being offered to and invoked during weddings. This being was and is popularly thought to be Ōkuninushi.
In 1999, two gay men were married in a Shinto ceremony at Kanamara Shrine in Kawasaki, but gay weddings have not been widespread in Shinto shrines, and the position of the Association of Shinto Shrines on gay weddings is vague.
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