At the wedding of the lower classes, the bride and her ladies and friends have a feast, but the bridegroom has no feast; and when the bride’s feast is over, the bridegroom is called in and is presented with the bride’s wine-cup; but as the forms observed are very vulgar, it is not worth while to point out the rules which guide them.  As this night is essentially of importance to the married couple only, there are some writers on ceremonies who have laid down that no feast need be prepared for the bride’s ladies, and in my opinion they are right:  for the husband and wife at the beginning of their intercourse to be separated, and for the bride alone to be feasted like an ordinary guest, appears to be an inauspicious opening.  I have thus pointed out two ill-omened customs which are to be avoided.

The ceremonies observed at the weddings of persons of ordinary rank are as follows:—­The feast which is prepared is in proportion to the means of the individuals.  There must be three wine-cups set out upon a tray.  The ceremony of drinking wine three times is gone through, as described above, after which the bride changes her dress, and a feast of three courses is produced—­two courses of five dishes and one of three dishes, or one course of five dishes, one of three, and one of two, according to the means of the family.  A tray, with a representation of the island of Takasago, is brought out, and the wine is heated; sweetmeats of five or seven sorts are also served in boxes or trays; and when the tea comes in, the bridegroom gets up, and goes to rest himself.  If the wine kettles are of tin, they must not be set out in the room:  they must be brought in from the kitchen; and in that case the paper butterflies are not attached to them.

In old times the bride and bridegroom used to change their dress three or five times during the ceremony; but at the present time, after the nine cups of wine have been drunk, in the manner recorded above, the change of dress takes place once.  The bride puts on the silk robe which she has received from the bridegroom, while he dons the dress of ceremony which has been brought by the bride.

When these ceremonies have been observed, the bride’s ladies conduct her to the apartments of her parents-in-law.  The bride carries with her silk robes, as presents for her parents and brothers and sister-in-law.  A tray is brought out, with three wine-cups, which are set before the parents-in-law and the bride.  The father-in-law drinks three cups and hands the cup to the bride, who, after she has drunk two cups, receives a present from her father-in-law; she then drinks a third cup, and returns the cup to her father-in-law, who again drinks three cups.  Fish is then brought in, and, in the houses of ordinary persons, a preparation of rice.  Upon this the mother-in-law, taking the second cup, drinks three cups and passes the cup to the bride, who drinks two cups and receives a present from her mother-in-law:  she then drinks a third