Visitors to a riverside garden near Tokyo enjoyed an old-fashioned wedding ceremony procession on a boat amid irises in full bloom. The Suigo Itako Iris Festival is being held in Itako City in Ibaraki Prefecture. The revived tradition has become a highlight of the annual festival. On Saturday, a boat carrying a bride set out as visitors watching from the riverside applauded. The area is surrounded by lakes and rivers where boats were once used as a daily form of transportation. Until the 1960s, brides in white wedding kimonos could be seen in rowboats heading to meet their bridegrooms.
(Visitor) “The ceremony was so beautiful. I was moved to tears.”
(Miyamoto Michiko / Bride) “It was a valuable experience that so many people congratulated us. It was a very happy day.”
◆procession 行列、行進
◆highlight 呼び物、目玉
◆be moved to tears by ～に感動して涙が出る
