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You married Kita Shinsuke in Autumn, on an afternoon when the sun was starting to sink, with the blessing of everyone that watched you became who you were and all the gods above.
It was your mother and his grandmother that had helped you get dressed, the former’s hand shaking as she gently let go of the uchikake and allowed it to drape on your shoulders. Her lips pressed into a soft smile when you let out a tiny gasp, staring at your reflection in the mirror. The wrinkly hands of grandma Yumie smoothed out the knot at your belt, the pearly embroidery of the crane just slightly visible on top of the white.
You remember Shinsuke pursing his lips together when you told him you want to get married in front of the jinja he grew up going to, the one that faces the boundless fields of Hyogo on top of a small hill.
“Are you sure you don’t want to wear a dress?” he asked, “you don’t have to-”
“Shinsuke,” you chuckled, stopping him with your hand on his. He paused, eyebrows still pursed together until you leaned forward to brush your thumb against the wrinkles until they faded away, “I want to marry you with the blessings of the entire world, mortal and celestial.”
You knew you made the right choice when the staff helping you with the attire laid the white garment in front of you. The delicate patterns took your breath away and there was nothing short of a strong pound in your chest when they told you what cranes on shiromuku meant.
Accompanying each other for a lifetime.
“Beautiful,” Yumie cooed, her hands hovering above your hand when she fixed the final piece of the coordination, the white cotton tsunokakushi carefully covering up your hair. You could feel the texture of her hands when she cradled your face, decades of callouses marking the blood and sweat she had put into raising the wonderful man that would soon be your husband. “my beautiful grandchild.”
There was a pang of soreness to your eyes at the title and she was quick to chuckle off your reaction. “Oh, don’t cry my dear, not now,” she said, and your mother nodded in agreement as she picked up your hand, “just wait until he sees you.”
And she was right, as grandmothers and mothers always do at moments like these.
If waking up early in the morning and getting hushed into layers and layers of fabric felt unreal, then the reality finally hit when you saw him waiting for you under the steps of the jinja. The guests were already led into the ceremony hall, and it was just the closest family remaining as you finally sees him for the first time this day. Suddenly the world stopped, and you just wanted to keep the image of him standing under the flaming red leaves in your mind forever. It was like he was made for this moment, you could not imagine anyone being more suited for the black haorihakama than he does.
And when he saw you.
Oh, when he saw you from the corner of his eyes and smiled.
“Nervous?” he mouthed, watching as you gingerly reached out to take your mother’s hand.
The shinshoku was standing there, ready to take you into the hall where everyone was waiting, where they would inform the gods that watched over him about your communion.
It took his breath away when you turned to him, barely able to shake your head with all the weight on your head as you mouthed back a quiet “no”.
You looked beautiful, and he wasn’t sure if there was anything he had seen or would ever see that could compare.
Kita Shinsuke had never done things to get into any god’s favour but at the moment when the songs started and you took the first step towards your forever together, he looked up to the blue skies and muttered a soft praise.
Perhaps he was a blessed man after all.
打ち掛け (uchikake): the outermost layer of kimono, longer and thicker at the train to cover up the clothing inside
角隠し (tsunokakushi): meaning “to hide ones horn”, symbolising the act of hiding away ones wilfulness and jealousy upon marriage
羽織袴 (haorihakama): the proper outfit for the groom. Traditionally black with the family’s crest embroider on top. There are types with one, three, or five crests. The more crests there are, the more prestige it is
神社 (jinja): shrine
神職 (jinshoku): clergy