The bride wearing a cap called Watabousi was smiling in the courtyard

As I wandered around the square in front of the worship hall, a group of people in formal attire appeared. At the front of the group walked a priest and a shrine maiden, followed by a man and a woman. They were the bride and groom who were about to be married here at Meiji Shrine.

Both the bride and groom were dressed in traditional formal attire. The groom wears a haori hakama with crests and the bride wears a cotton hat on her head. I had thought that such a hat was also a tsunokakushi (hidden corner), but this is called a “cotton hat". Originally, it was just a winter coat, but as time went by, it became a wedding attire.

But still, the name “tsunokakushi” is quite strange. To hide them presupposes that the bride has horns. There seem to be various theories as to its origin. Some say that hiding the horns when getting married shows the bride's determination to be an obedient and gentle wife, while others say that it is a spell to prevent her from becoming a demon in a jealous rage. In reality, I think men's jealousy is more troublesome, but that is never questioned.

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