Robyn Lebron hether the ceremony is performed at a shrine, at a wedding hall, or at home, it proceeds in the following order: 1) a purification rite; 2) a bow from the officiate; 3) the raising of food and sake as offerings to the deity; 4) a litany performed by the officiate and addressed to the gods; 5) the lowering of the now-blessed sake (rice wine) and the pouring of it for the bride and groom who drink it in a ritualized pattern; if the couple exchanges rings, the exchange typically occurs thereafter; 6) the marriage partners read their marriage vows; 7) the performance of music; 8) a sacred offering of evergreen branches from the officiate and the couple in turn; 9) the mutual pledge between families of the bride and groom and their partaking of the sacred sake; 10) the lowering of food offerings again; and 11) a bow from the priest to conclude the ceremony Shintō weddings are much less popular than they were a generation ago Then 70 percent of Japanese chose a Shintō ceremony, now the number is less than 20 percent “During recent decades, Japanese couples have introduced many Western elements to Japanese weddings Many brides chose to wear white, Christian style dresses, and some religious ceremonies are even held completely in Christian style at a Christian church even though the couple may not be Christian The ritual of cake cutting, the exchange of rings and honeymoons are a few other very common adopted elements.” 26 Infant Baptism or Blessing Whenever a child is born in Japan, a local Shintō shrine adds the child’s name to a list kept at the shrine and declares him or her a family child Names can be added to the list without consent and regardless of the beliefs of the person added to the list However, this is not considered an imposition of belief but a sign of being welcomed by the local kami, with the promise of addition to the pantheon of kami after death.27 Various Shintō rites of passage are observed The first visit of a newborn baby to the tutelary kami (thirty-first day for boys and thirty-second day for girls) is to initiate the baby as a new adherent Parents and grandparents bring the child to a Shintō shrine to express gratitude to the deities for the birth of a baby and have a shrine priest pray for his or her health and happiness The practice is not dissimilar to a Christian baptism ~ 298 ~