Kyoto - A pair of Italian newlyweds stood before a photographer recently at Kamigamo Shrine in Kita Ward, Kyoto, posing as instructed.
“Gaze into each other's eyes more earnestly... Okay. Perfect!” the photographer called. Clad in a red bridal uchikake robe, the wife stood beside her husband, who wore a crested haori coat and hakama trousers. They blended perfectly with the archway and the two-storied gate at the Shinto shrine in the background.
More and more foreign newlyweds are having their photos taken at temples and shrines in Kyoto wearing traditional bridal outfits as part of “photo wedding” services offered.
Maria Laura Raimondi, 37, and her husband were in Japan on their honeymoon, but Raimondi is no stranger to this nation, having studied Japanese literature at university. After they married in Italy in May, they applied online to a Kyoto company for a photo wedding.
“I wanted to have my wedding photos taken with my husband wearing a kimono,” said a Raimondi. “I like Japan even more now.”
Noting the popularity of the service, the Kyoto prefectural government set up the Japanese-style Wedding Admissions Group this spring to offer original wedding photo services, in cooperation with the Kyoto city government, four wedding companies in the city, the Kyoto Prefecture Association of Shinto Shrines and the Kyoto Buddhist Organisation.
With more than 10 million foreign tourists visiting Japan each year, the prefectural government aims to attract more overseas visitors by offering a comprehensive photo wedding program that will bring them back to Kyoto again and again, drawn by their good memories of their previous visits.
According to the prefectural government and other sources, photo weddings first became popular among young people in Taiwan and Hong Kong. Kyoto apparently became a popular destination for these visitors several years ago when travel agencies in Taiwan and Hong Kong began providing photo wedding packages. Some people even bring a photographer with them to Japan and spend several days having their photos taken.
Domestic companies have recently started entering the market. A photo wedding typically costs about 200 000 yen (about R20 000), including wedding outfits.
The photo session packages provided by the joint venture of Kyoto governments and businesses also start at about 200 000 yen, which includes a photo session, makeup, wardrobe assistance and outfits. The plan also includes a religious ceremony and a presentation about Japanese history and culture.
Eleven photo shoot locations are offered, including such popular temples as Toji in Minami Ward, Ninnaji in Ukyo Ward and Kodaiji in Higashiyama Ward. Participants can also be photographed at a building in Kamigyo Ward that once housed the main Kyoto prefectural government offices, designated as an important cultural property by the central government.
A website was set up in English and Chinese on July 25 to accept applications. It plans to seek the participation of other shrines and temples as well.
Photo wedding services have also been incorporated into tourism promotion programs in Sapporo and Okinawa Prefecture.
In Sapporo, five wedding companies established the Sapporo Location Photograph Wedding Conference in 2011.
Fifteen foreign couples used the service in fiscal 2011, with the figure rising to 51 in fiscal 2013. Its popularity largely stems from the photos that capture snow-dusted landscapes and other breathtaking views of nature. The city's tourism planning department expects more tourists to come from overseas after seeing these photos.
Okinawa Prefecture has been working to bring in people for wedding ceremonies at local tourist spots for the last decade, and more people are recently using photo wedding services. Last year, more than 200 couples had their photos taken on beaches and in other locales. - The Yomiuri Shimbun/Washington Post