3 for sake, 1 for...
先日は上山田お神楽保存会の新年会がこの温泉の上山田ホテルで行いました。私が生まれてからbeatle'sのOb-La-Di, Ob-La-Daを歌ったなど、公表が出来ない部分はありますが、その中で感動した一事があって、ここで紹介したいと思います。
上ホの一角に日本の伝統的な物は飾ってありました。帯や主に結婚式関係の物でしたが、この三々九度の盃がありました。結婚する二人の親をお互いに紹介する時に使うお皿だそうです。普段はお皿が三枚らしいですが、この辺で４枚だと言う習慣があると教えてもらいました。一枚は盃の式の時に割れるそうです。つまり、結婚する娘との親の縁も割れるからだと。
確かに、日本の結婚式披露宴でその部分がありますね。お嫁になる女性が自分の親に「お世話になりました」と言います。その下降形の「した」に驚きました。日本で結婚する時、親との縁まで切れるのだ。
三々九度の４枚目のお皿が割れるように。
上山田ホテルさん、この伝統的なものの展示でそのストーリーを表現してくれて、有難うございました！
The other day, the Kamiyamada Okagara Lion Dance troupe held our New Year Party at Kamiyamada Hotel, one of the grandest inns here in Togura Kamiyamada Onsen. For the first time in my life, I sang Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da by the Beatle's. That and many other stories shall be told at a later time (or maybe not). Now I want to mention about a little something that really fascinated me.
Kamiyamada Hotel had one section decorated by various traditional objects, like a kimono obi and several items related to weddings, including these "San-san Ku Do" dishes. These are apparently used as part of the ceremony for when the parents of the two to be married are introduced to each other. The party drinks sake out of 3 of the dishes in a special ritual. It is our local tradition to have a 4th dish, that is to be broken as a symbol of the bride's ties with her parents to be broken.
It reminded me of the Japanese wedding ceremonies I have seen. At one point during the reception, the bride gives a speech thanking her parents for all of the support they have given her, with the "given" being past tense. In other words, she no longer belongs to that family. From then on, she is a member of her husband's family. The ties are broken, like the 4th dish is. Powerful stuff.
I want to thank Kamiyamada Hotel for honoring and giving voice to local traditions like this through their displays!
上山田ホテルのＨＰはこちらClick here for Kamiyamada Hotel's website.
