МАЭ № 13-34/21

Omiai ceremony. Series “the Life of the Japanese”.

Japanese

1820-s

silk textile, Japanese watercolours, ink, Japanese washigami paper, glue

32.2 × 44.1

This picture depicts the moment when the bride and groom to be meet for the first time. A cherry blossom viewing provides the pretext for the young couple’s encounter. The groom and the go-between are drinking sake, sitting on a bench in front of a teahouse. On the teahouse we see the characters meishi konyaku which describe a kind of Japanese cuisine in which rice is combined with a paste made from a tuber called konyaku (Amorphophallus konjac). The gmarriage match-maker is pointing at the bride. The bride is wearing a beautiful, light purple kosode with a red sash. She is concealing her face behind a sleeve, as if she is embarrassed. The woman who is her chaperon is pointing at the groom with her suehiro fan. On the left is an official bulletin board (kosatsu) listing the rules for behavior in public places, which bears an official stamp.

Ethnographic drawing