San-san-kudo
三三九度
التعريف
The Shinto wedding ceremony ritual where bride and groom exchange sake cups (sakazuki) three times, each drinking three sips from cups of increasing size. The nine total sips symbolize the binding of two families and the wish for enduring happiness.
بعمق
San-san-kudo (literally 'three-three-nine times') uses three stacked sakazuki in ascending sizes representing heaven (ten), earth (chi), and humanity (jin). The bride drinks first from the smallest cup, then the groom, then the bride again. This pattern repeats with each larger cup. The sake used is often toso, a spiced medicinal sake, though plain sake is also common. The ritual may be extended to include parents and family members (shinzoku-hai), broadening the symbolic bond. San-san-kudo remains one of the most recognizable images of sake in Japanese cultural life.