The traditional Japanese wedding banquet called “honzen” was codified in the Muromachi period (1336-1573), and spread to the rural areas in the Edo period. The typical wedding banquet began with a sake ceremony, before the honzen meal (typically rice, soup, and some side dishes presented on zen, individual tray-like tables) was served, this being followed by the shuen (drinking party). This original style seemed to change in the Meiji period (1868 onwards). We have clarified the time of this change and its impact on the style of the wedding banquet.
Wedding menus preserved by several mainline rural families, like the Huruhashi, Chiaki and Omae, were used as the investigation materials. In total,40 menus were reviewed for the period from 1729 to 1917.
There were two distinct wedding banquet styles, the original comprising sake, honzen and shuen in that order. All menus created in the Edo period, bar one, follow this style. The other style became common in the Meiji period, especially after 1900, its particular characteristic being that shuen preceded honzen. Shuen thus became more central to the wedding banquet program, and honzen was simplified with fewer dishes and smaller scale.
