NoaIzumiAnime Classroom: Omiai
July 11th 2009 23:33
Anime, educational? Sure!
In anime, an omiai is a big deal. When Ken Nakajima thinks his beloved Miyuki is going on an omiai in You’re Under Arrest, it spurs him to finally ask her out after months of admiring her from afar. When Nyamo-sensei of Azumanga Daioh is offered an omiai by her mother, she agonizes over the decision before finally agreeing. But what exactly is an omiai?
“Omiai” is one of those Japanese words that’s difficult to easily translate, since the concept is pretty foreign to Westerners. It is usually translated in English as “arranged marriage”, but that’s not quite right. It’s more like a blind date, but it’s not the same as what Westerners think of as a blind date. When a young person has decided that they are ready to get married, a meeting is set up by a go-between (nakodo), usually a family member, with a suitable potential partner, and both people are given photographs and general information about each other. The first meeting includes the young people, the parents, and the nakodo, and is usually quite formal. If this goes well, the couple decides to go out, on their own this time. The third date is usually considered decision time, by which both parties should know whether they want to take the next step.
An excellent example of an Omiai is the subject of the episode, “Ota’s Afternoon of Puzzlement” in the mecha series Patlabor. Labor pilot Ota isn’t exactly a ladies man, and his aunt sets him up with a nice woman whom she knows through a friend. The initial meeting includes all four, and although the first meeting doesn’t go too well (Ota falls into the pool as he and the young lady are strolling through the garden), she agrees to a date. In spite of Ota’s nervousness, things seem to go smoothly, and by the third date, Ota is apparently ready to ask the girl to marry him. (Unfortunately, Ota doesn’t get his happily ever after this time, but I strongly recommend the episode; it’s one of my favorites.)
Omiai used to be standard practice in feudal Japan among the samurai class, to whom marriages were critical for clan alliances. They’re less common now, but are still significant (between ten and thirty percent of marriages in modern Japan are the result of omiai), which may seem strange, but it makes sense for certain people. If you’re a dedicated salaryman (or woman) spending 80 hours a week at the office, an omiai is a perfect alternative to the relatively random dating scene. In addition, a person of a certain age who is still unmarried is more often than not looked on with some suspicion (being a loner is not generally considered a good thing in Japanese society), increasing pressure to tie the knot.
Not everyone goes for it, of course, and an omiai is often something done for the parents rather than oneself. Linna Yamazaki of Bubblegum Crisis: Tokyo 2040 is a case in point. She’s blind-sided with an omiai by her parents when she goes home for a visit, and goes along with it for their sake, but is decidedly NOT happy about it. The guy does turn out to be a cutie, but in the end, Linna has to go her own way.
It’s not always quite such a serious matter. Mika-sensei of Doki Doki School Hours goes on an omiai mainly for the fancy dinner she’ll get.
In anime, an omiai is a big deal. When Ken Nakajima thinks his beloved Miyuki is going on an omiai in You’re Under Arrest, it spurs him to finally ask her out after months of admiring her from afar. When Nyamo-sensei of Azumanga Daioh is offered an omiai by her mother, she agonizes over the decision before finally agreeing. But what exactly is an omiai?
“Omiai” is one of those Japanese words that’s difficult to easily translate, since the concept is pretty foreign to Westerners. It is usually translated in English as “arranged marriage”, but that’s not quite right. It’s more like a blind date, but it’s not the same as what Westerners think of as a blind date. When a young person has decided that they are ready to get married, a meeting is set up by a go-between (nakodo), usually a family member, with a suitable potential partner, and both people are given photographs and general information about each other. The first meeting includes the young people, the parents, and the nakodo, and is usually quite formal. If this goes well, the couple decides to go out, on their own this time. The third date is usually considered decision time, by which both parties should know whether they want to take the next step.
An excellent example of an Omiai is the subject of the episode, “Ota’s Afternoon of Puzzlement” in the mecha series Patlabor. Labor pilot Ota isn’t exactly a ladies man, and his aunt sets him up with a nice woman whom she knows through a friend. The initial meeting includes all four, and although the first meeting doesn’t go too well (Ota falls into the pool as he and the young lady are strolling through the garden), she agrees to a date. In spite of Ota’s nervousness, things seem to go smoothly, and by the third date, Ota is apparently ready to ask the girl to marry him. (Unfortunately, Ota doesn’t get his happily ever after this time, but I strongly recommend the episode; it’s one of my favorites.)
Omiai used to be standard practice in feudal Japan among the samurai class, to whom marriages were critical for clan alliances. They’re less common now, but are still significant (between ten and thirty percent of marriages in modern Japan are the result of omiai), which may seem strange, but it makes sense for certain people. If you’re a dedicated salaryman (or woman) spending 80 hours a week at the office, an omiai is a perfect alternative to the relatively random dating scene. In addition, a person of a certain age who is still unmarried is more often than not looked on with some suspicion (being a loner is not generally considered a good thing in Japanese society), increasing pressure to tie the knot.
Not everyone goes for it, of course, and an omiai is often something done for the parents rather than oneself. Linna Yamazaki of Bubblegum Crisis: Tokyo 2040 is a case in point. She’s blind-sided with an omiai by her parents when she goes home for a visit, and goes along with it for their sake, but is decidedly NOT happy about it. The guy does turn out to be a cutie, but in the end, Linna has to go her own way.
Linna at her omiai
Alone time for the couple
The apologetic rejection
It’s not always quite such a serious matter. Mika-sensei of Doki Doki School Hours goes on an omiai mainly for the fancy dinner she’ll get.
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