The bride and groom were walking together under the umbrella

As I was loitering in front of the shrine, another bride and groom appeared in the courtyard. The groom and bride walked side by side under the umbrella held by the Shinto priest. They both looked proud and confident of their hopeful future. Here at Meiji Jingu Shrine, many brides and grooms are born each day. If you spend a few hours in the shrine grounds, you will see many brides and grooms.

It seems that a lot of people want to get married in a Shinto shrine. A wedding at a shrine sounds like an old traditional custom, but surprisingly, Shinto wedding ceremonies are not that old. Originally, most ordinary people held their weddings at home. Somewhere along the line, weddings began to be held outside the home. Incidentally, it is said that the first person to hold a wedding ceremony in a Shinto shrine was Emperor Taisho. This was only about 120 years ago.