Japan eyeing traditional wedding revival

FUKUSHIMA, Japan, Aug. 16 (UPI) -- Two Japanese cities sponsor traditional wedding events each year to embrace their heritage and attract tourists, city officials say. Sumiko Yamada, who is in charge of Shin's Wedding Parade in Inawashiro said the Fukushima prefecture town first brought back the historical wedding ceremonies in 1997 and is trying to keep them an annual affair, The Japan Times reported Saturday. June's event even drew nearly 2,500 people to the town, which spends nearly $35,000 on the annual event each year. Officials in the Niigata prefecture town of Aga say they, too, have embraced the traditional marriage ceremonies, which typically include formal kimonos and folk songs, in order to boost tourism. "It's the biggest tourism event in the town," Aga official Yukari Saito said. The town held its Wedding Parade... [read full story]