c7_assassin
3rd Level Black Feather
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http://ca.news.yahoo.com/divorce-ceremonies-pick-japan-disaster-115016334.html
I can't figure out which part of this story I find more confusing and vaguely unsettling; the fact that there's such a thing as a divorce ceremony in Japan, or the fact that couples are getting more of them post-civilization threatening-disaster.
I mean, I've never been through a divorce myself, but it seems like most of them are predicated on a certain amount of animosity or general unhappiness with your spouse. So the idea of a formal ceremony celebrating the end of your relationship with said spouse seems patently absurd. In fact, the idea of a breakup ceremony is so counterintuitive that it was actually used as a plot device in an episode of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. So Japan seems to now be actively appropriating it's culture from bad science fiction.
The etiquette of this ceremony is what intrigues me the most. I mean, are you expected to invite guests? And do they have to be the same guests who attended your wedding in order to reverse the bad-marriage-polarity? Is the father of the un-bride expected to foot the bill again? What if there was infidelity? Is the cheater expected to pay? Is he allowed to bring his mistress as a guest? Do you both, in fact, bring dates? Do the guests give toasts listing the individual faults of the bride and groom? Is there cake? Instead of playfully feeding it to each other, do they instead ram it down each other's throats and then go at it with the knives? Does the whole thing take place in an octagon?
Also, how bad must the average Japanese marriage be, that a near death experience causes them to wake up and say "My God, I almost died. My life would have been over. I've been wasting it, my god have I been wasting it! Well, no more. I'm divorcing this frigid bitch and spending all my remaining time at the office!"
Over here, we have a phenomenon where blackouts always cause a spike in pregnancies; our rule of thumb is "When in doubt, bone." In Japan, when the lights go out, couples will chew off their own genitals just to hide them from their partners. Japanese people are so afraid of sex that their concept of a hooker is a woman who takes off her gloves as she's pouring your tea. Japanese people are so bad at intimacy that they think 'cuddling' is something you do with sea creatures who are too slow to swim away. Japanese people are so uptight that if you make eye contact with your own mother, you have to be chemically castrated.
TOKYO (Reuters) - Ceremonies to celebrate divorces have gained momentum in Japan after the massive March earthquake and tsunami, followed by an ongoing nuclear crisis, caused unhappy couples to reassess their lives.
The ceremony to mark a couple's transition to being single again costs 55,000 yen (423 pounds), includes a buffet meal and culminates with the ritual smashing of their wedding rings with a gavel.
"The March 11 disaster made many couples rethink their priorities. Some found that work was a higher priority to them than family, and this helped people gain the confidence to decide on a divorce," Terai said.
I can't figure out which part of this story I find more confusing and vaguely unsettling; the fact that there's such a thing as a divorce ceremony in Japan, or the fact that couples are getting more of them post-civilization threatening-disaster.
I mean, I've never been through a divorce myself, but it seems like most of them are predicated on a certain amount of animosity or general unhappiness with your spouse. So the idea of a formal ceremony celebrating the end of your relationship with said spouse seems patently absurd. In fact, the idea of a breakup ceremony is so counterintuitive that it was actually used as a plot device in an episode of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. So Japan seems to now be actively appropriating it's culture from bad science fiction.
The etiquette of this ceremony is what intrigues me the most. I mean, are you expected to invite guests? And do they have to be the same guests who attended your wedding in order to reverse the bad-marriage-polarity? Is the father of the un-bride expected to foot the bill again? What if there was infidelity? Is the cheater expected to pay? Is he allowed to bring his mistress as a guest? Do you both, in fact, bring dates? Do the guests give toasts listing the individual faults of the bride and groom? Is there cake? Instead of playfully feeding it to each other, do they instead ram it down each other's throats and then go at it with the knives? Does the whole thing take place in an octagon?
Also, how bad must the average Japanese marriage be, that a near death experience causes them to wake up and say "My God, I almost died. My life would have been over. I've been wasting it, my god have I been wasting it! Well, no more. I'm divorcing this frigid bitch and spending all my remaining time at the office!"
Over here, we have a phenomenon where blackouts always cause a spike in pregnancies; our rule of thumb is "When in doubt, bone." In Japan, when the lights go out, couples will chew off their own genitals just to hide them from their partners. Japanese people are so afraid of sex that their concept of a hooker is a woman who takes off her gloves as she's pouring your tea. Japanese people are so bad at intimacy that they think 'cuddling' is something you do with sea creatures who are too slow to swim away. Japanese people are so uptight that if you make eye contact with your own mother, you have to be chemically castrated.