All the men and boys wore business suits, most of the women were in elegant western dresses and older ladies and girls wore kimono. “Which is the couple?”
“They don’t come until everyone else has arrived.” As if on cue, the groom entered the room in a commanding short, white kimono with divided martial hakama covering his legs. The bride followed in a white kimono decorated with flowers and fruit. Her obi was a wide floral red sash, red and white being happy colours in Japan. They made a short lap of the hall before sitting in the only chairs. We all remained standing while a man representing both families stood on a stage at the side of the room and introduced the bride and groom, giving some details of their family and career backgrounds. Once this was over, the couple were lead to a barrel of sake and given a large wooden hammer. They broke the seal, then used a bamboo ladle to scoop sake into square wooden containers. While we clapped, they drank from these then left the room again.