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Article on Fake Wedding Ministers

japan weddings

The Telegraph has an article today about the popularity of Western-style weddings in Japan and the foreigners who work as fake priests at the ceremonies:

…for Kevin Charles, a suave and friendly American living in Tokyo, being “just the man for the job” has involved exactly that. The 32-year-old’s regular job is as a translator – but every weekend, he also becomes best man to Japanese bridegrooms.

Mr Charles, from Missouri, is part of a bizarre and growing craze among Japanese couples for Western-style wedding ceremonies, widely seen as a fun alternative to their staid, traditional Shinto counterparts.

In the name of authenticity, foreigners stand in as fake reverends and best men, and while the vows over which they officiate are legally worthless, it is providing a lucrative source of income for growing numbers of Westerners.

“I am basically a surrogate best man, and am at the groom’s side during the ceremony to make sure it all goes smoothly,” said Mr Charles, who has now stood in at more than 350 weddings.

“Working at a wedding is good money. It’s common to receive about 10,000 yen (£48) for a single wedding which takes an hour. If you do six a day, you earn double what you’d expect from teaching English.”

Such weddings have been popular for years now [a Google search found an article from 10 years ago about this same topic], and I’d hardly describe them as a “growing craze.” I guess it’s still interesting for those who haven’t read about this sort of thing before, though.

18 comments - What do you think? Posted by James - February 17, 2008 at 7:59 pm

Categories: Foreigners in Japan Tags: culture, japan, japanese, news

David

I think it’s ridiculous. The one thing about Japan I can never learn to like or respect is Japan’s bizarre relationship to western (american) culture. If you’re a Japanese person marrying a Japanese person in Japan, and have no other connection with the west, don’t embarrass yourself – have a Japanese ceremony!

ponta

It is not exactly western culture. It is more like Teriyaki burger. And when one culture meets another, I think it is sort of ineveitable.
The Overthinker

So what do you say to those Hollywood types that like Hindu ceremonies? Anyway, the ‘traditional’ Japanese wedding dates back barely a hundred years (it was first established in its standard form at the wedding of Yoshihito, the future Emperor Taisho) and is another of Japan’s modern invented traditions.

The Western wedding ceremony is like a honeymoon in Venice or France – romantic escapism, less onerously formal than the pure Shinto ceremony. And to demand they stop it is to demand they stop eating bread, or wearing suits, or using chairs, or parting their hair in the 7-3 style….

Hmmmm…..I could sure go for a teriyaki burger right about now – the only burger McDonalds serves here that I will happily eat….

Brett

Perhaps he feels the same about the Hindu weddings?
Irregardless it is still rather silly to actually hire someone to be your best man, and have him look western for the atmosphere.
You don’t think that this is bizarre? I have to agree with David here. It’s a strange thing to actually go out of your way to find a western looking bestman.
http://sleepytako.blogspot.com David

teriyaki burger?!?
I thought more of you. Tomato bacon 4 leif!

Oh, and on the topic… I can’t believe how lazy journalists are reading that line about “growing craze” I remembered a ton of old articles I’ve read on the subject.
The Overthinker

Okay, let me be a little more clear. I avoid McDonalds like the plague, but their t-burger is the only burger they offer that I like. They are not however the only people to offer teriyaki burgers – the MOS teriyaki chicken is far better. I didn’t mean to imply that I only liked McD’s teriyaki burger. MOS is way better, even if more expensive.

The Overthinker

Well, the McD’s t-burger actually has some flavour, which might be the reason. Also, the t-burger has been on the menu since I was a teenager and my palate was less developed, which is when I developed a liking for it. I do not, however, deliberately go to the Golden Arches and buy one. However at times McDs is a valid choice, like when they sold really really cheap burgers (when you’re a student, that’s an issue: MOS can be three times as expensive) or you’re on a road trip and there is literally nothing else open, not even a konbini. It’s happened. So if McDs is emergency food, then what I will have there is the teriyaki, as it has flavour (but is far too salty) unlike the rest of the roadkill they offer.
The Overthinker

I actually took about ten years off my life the last time I was in the US and had a Triple Whopper. Took me half an hour to get through that sucker….

T-burger is teriyaki burger….

David

Very very few people in the west have hindu weddings….

newsboy

…for Hideo Takeuchi, a suave and friendly Japanese Man living in New York, being “just the man for the job” has involved exactly that. The 32-year-old’s regular job is as a translator – but every weekend, he also becomes best man to American bridegrooms.

Mr Takeuchi, from Miyazaki, is part of a bizarre and growing craze among American couples for Japanese-style wedding ceremonies, widely seen as a fun alternative to their staid, traditional Christian counterparts.

In the name of authenticity, foreigners of Asian orgins stand in as fake Shinto priests and best men, and while the vows over which they officiate are legally worthless, it is providing a lucrative source of income for growing numbers of Japanese.

“I am basically a surrogate best man, and am at the groom’s side during the ceremony to make sure it all goes smoothly,” said Mr Takeuchi, who has now stood in at more than 350 weddings.

“Working at a wedding is good money. It’s common to receive about 100 Dollars (Y10,000) for a single wedding which takes an hour. If you do six a day, you earn double what you’d expect from teaching Japanese.”

OsakaGuy

Haha, nice!
The Overthinker

Good money if you can get it. Maybe one day it will actually happen, too.

Zero

I’m an ordained minister performing wedding ceremonies in Japan. I’m not actually religious, this is a side job, but I am in fact ordained. The thing is most of the people who perform ceremonies here that I have met are also ordained, which is neither difficult nor expensive. So, “legally” I can officiate a marriage.

But on that point, of officiation, there is somewhat of a misleading gap in the article. I perform a WEDDING ceremony, not a MARRIAGE. In japan, as in many other countries, the only way to get MARRIED is to submit the appropriate paperwork to the government. A wedding, be it traditional Japanese style or western style, can not make you married here. So while my vows are not legally binding and my officiation has no actual legal binding to the MARRIAGE, most vows and religious officiations aren’t in Japan and many other countries. It should be noted however, that when one is to prove the authenticity of their marriage to government bodies, for a US visa for example, the “officiated” certificate and pictures/movies of the wedding ceremony are usually the standard method of providing proof of authenticity. So while “not legally binding” it can be necessary in certain situations.

My wedding, by the way, was traditional Japanese style.

David

Question: Are the ceremonies in English?

KokuRyu

Heh. I did this for three years and got paid 18,000 wedding (about $200 Canadian). I made, on average, about 900,000 yen a year.

I was living in a small city, and a convention center opened up about three block from my house. A friend of mine did weddings with the agency contracted to provide ‘fake priests’, and so he got me the job.

I was working at a junior high school and moonlighting as a priest on weekends. I hoped and prayed that no one from my school would show up, but, inevitably, the vice principal (ultimately, the person who supervised me) showed up. I hoped to God he wouldn’t recognize me, but recognize me he did.

“Hey, KokuRyu! Hey Hey!” he was waving, happy to see me.

I never worried about being found out after that, and actually married about three or four teachers in the small town where I lived.

Eventually a second wedding chapel was built in my town, and they decided to use a cheaper contractor. My wages were cut by about 20%.

It was a strange job, and I couldn’t imagine myself doing it for years and years. But I did improve my keigo or polite Japanese to a professional level, and learned a lot of interesting Japanese to boot.
Erica

If it is their desire to have a western wedding then let them have it, its a free country for the most part. But what greatly irritates me is how fake the entire ceremony looks. Why would they want to hire a “best man” someone you never met. Oh wait, as long as you are western and white then its their dream come true to have a foreigner at their wedding. if they wanted it that bad they should have made a friend from another country and on top of that, the friend pays 30,000yen to get a seat instead of paying someone 10,000 to be your friend for the day.
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morningstar

I will ask for my money back.

Article on Fake Wedding Ministers

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