O-Miai or Japanese Pre-Arranged Marriages

An O-miai is a  pre-arranged meeting between two adults who have proclaimed themselves seekers of significant others. These eligible candidates are serious about who they meet and who they will end up spending the rest of their lives with. In ghetto terms it would be those interested in tying the knot with someone else and do it clean like yo!.

O-Miai is for people serious about who they are going to get serious with. Its a very serious matter. The choosing of one's everlasting(or at least to death do us part) life partner to say the least, is a major decision in any single adults life. It will affect who you become and whether or not you will be happy or miserable. 

A successfully arranged O-miai usually leads to more serious commitments, including marriage, with high hopes of having hopes high. Lack of good quality candidates is what makes the o-miai so appealing to those who take partner seeking seriously.

The less than perfect ghetto article or ghetto lense on the web might define the O-miai as, "The honorable practice of hooking a couple up! Japanese Style! With sushi and the whole 9 yards or would that be the big 10 ---) Uh oh 'm now going to have to rate this lense in the Pg 14's or something and don't you dare leave this lense without taking the two poll questions below.

Since marriage is a major occurence in someone's life, it shouldn't be taken lightly or granted that the prospective bride or groom can do this on their own. Much better to seek professional help, or at least get a recommendation from a person you can really trust, like sya---your grandmother. She always knows who is going to be the best mate for me don't you agree? Take the poll you will feel better!

 I feel that O-Miai's are quite practical in achieving the goals for which they were set up; mainly to bring a bride to his groom.

Other than the fact that occasionally, marriages pre-arranged in the way O-miai's are setup leave little room for an individuals freewill or free choice to shine, it has a plethora of benefits, including safety(health, otherwise), background check, ok, pre-approved, can get hooked up in less than 24 hours etc. A lot of good things are going on with o-miais that cannot be gained otherwise.  You'll know in advance that the prospective person called an aite (n. other party,or match) has no disesases, has a job, a tailor-made profile and a head shot to boot. I couldn't ask for a better deal. 

The safety features included in an o-miai deal are top notch.  They present a safe alternative than wandering aimlessly in the streets where partner seekers go out into the cold world where pushers of market baskets and dwellers of cardboard seem to roam in the world blindly and just  per chance those partner seekers through all the misty turmoil and strife of the big megalopolis or the pitch black star studded, fire-fly lit tiny 600 person everyone knows everyone and their dogs rural mura (village) stumble upon one another, the thought is staggering. 

We should recommend o-miai in our meetings, and workplaces and gatherings for the betterment of all. Without the blessings of the family, happenstance meetings of potential love interests are inevitably doomed because it will still be neccessary to introduce a stranger to the family. In o-miai there are no strangers, and there is no need to introduce them to any family member, just for the two love birds to get to know each other better, to try and hit it off.  When someone with whom you trust is recommending someone they trust all ought to be well. A little extra cash also helps the equation. It also ties tight knit knots between families. All in all, o-miai or pre-arranged marriages as I see it, is a very safe and effective way to hook two homies up! O-miais come with the blessings of the family iside the deal already just stir in boiling water one minute and your rice is perfect every time.  

O-Miai's are the way to go, but if you are a westerner you may have had a situation like what I am about to describe -

 I'm sure at least some of us have had embarassing moments, which later turned into family history of sort; stories about that special someone we used to like. Your face turned so red when Johnny told Susie that ___ likes Patty, and Patty wrote a little note (the 6 fold cup origmagi variety) and sent it back through Judy who gave it to Tommy, stating with nice big love heart illustrations,  that ___ likes you too etc.  Wouldn't it be better if it was an accepted norm that the way we meet potential love interests are handed to us on a silver plate with certificates of gold and blue ribbon awards to back that thing up?

It's a little difficult somtimes to must the courage to go meet with that special someone face to face, and stand eye to eye. I mean what an awful way to go about meeting a person that you like yet have never really met. Yikes!!! --what do I do, say, shiver me timbers--- Your heart is thumping, your palms are sweating, and you stare off in some different direction but your special someone is right in front of you. Yikes. Without proper backing, or encouraging moral support from your friends, or family, you may just continue staring aimlessly into the heavens farther than even the camera aboard the Hubble gazes into the ultra deep field + gravitational lense. Pain due to shyness or awkwardness of the occasion need no longer be a part o our heritage. Your opportunity to make a good first impression and gain a quality hookup are right here. But I can't do it alone. It takes everyones help. So please do your part to bookmark this page and also to delicious it and web 2.0 a lyze it to death if you would please and thankyou in advance. will vanish.

With your help we CAN make a difference. With your help and the shear viarl nature of my topic, this lense will catapult pre-arranged marriages in America skyrocket. I can just tell.  The pre-arranging of marriages etc. in America emulating them after the Japanese O-miai will become firy viral in the coming years. Sickly viral, almost strep throat viral in the near future, ou just wait and see. It's going to be the next biggest thing since sliced bread or the ipod. It's going to be great.

It saves peoples efforts and saves face or embarrasment, which of course we all want to avoid.  Through an o-miai, you won't need confidence to go and tell that special someone you like them, it's all included in the package. Yes, for a good o-miai can cost upward of $500,000. But you can get a quality o-miai for considerably less. 

Before O-miai's go viral because of this lense, I want to inform you of some of the more particulars of the Japanese variety. Of course I will lace the commentaries with my absurd opinions, but there will be real factual information in here so don't go away yet, and by the way did I mention that o-miai will be going viral in a next generation neighborhood near you? Very very soon it is wild viral in the wild. Cereal Ok now that I have lost have my audience, please continue to read as parlay upon the subject of o-miai or pre-arranged marriages.

 Chuck Woolery's Love Connection may have modeled itself after the Japanese variety or o-miai. The candidates get to choose from a catalogue the person they seem most interested in meeting. However----- and that is a big however, the the o-miai of Japan is much more honorable because your company boss could get involved, or your grandparents or your cousins recommendation etc. there is much more security because at least somebody on your side of the equation has met with the other side at least in some way and that person has been recommended and vice versa. Whoo! I hope that made cents--- And finally the facts Brett was talking about sharing well here they come. Fresh facts about o-miai right now appearing below. Please Enjoy and if after reading some facts about o-miai you think it might be a good idea, then help me make it go viral. Thank you in advance.

Those times when we were so embarrased that we blushed in the face because one or more of our friends spilled the beans about our little crush we had on ___( you fill in the blank) but wanted to keep it a secret between just ____ and ___ (you fill in the blank, and you know what I'm talking about). We all know how embarassing times can be especially when we are desirous of the eros. The look of loveWhen your friends tell her or him that you like that particular other. Naka-naka sometimes it is hard to build up enough courage just to say hi to a person you like.

If not arranged by a relative or fellow worker or boss o-miai's can be arranged by a 'go-between', who is given the special name of nakoudo the purpose of such meetings is to allow a prospective couple the chance to look each other over and decide whether there is any thing they might have in common with which to establish a lasting relationship.

In a prearranged marriage, the prospective bachelor or bachelorette have no input as to the choice of their future mate The choice of who one gets is mainly guided and directed by the wishes of the patriarchs of the two families involved. The nakoudo could be a relative, friend, business acquaintance usually having been asked for their assistance by the families to introduce the potential mates. 

Before WWII almost all Japanese marriages were O-miai kekkon. After the war a new constitution heavily influenced by western ideas outlawed the traditional patriarchal family system and made specific provisions that marriage should be based on the mutual consent of both parties. From these events arose a new type of Japanese love: this new type of love, or lover marriage mush was called ren'ai kekkon or love marriages(ai being the general term for the English Love, kekkon meaning marriage and the ren meaning match or affair etc). Although modern data suggests that the rate of ren'ai marriages to o-miai marriages is 70 to 30 percent,  it seems to me nowadays that this clear cut distinction cannot possibly be made These two love potion formula match making hit parades intertwine with each other too much to tell a difference.

In days of yore, I imagine  only the fathers of the prospective lovers spoke at the honorable O-miai.  Due to the natural humility of many Japanese maidens, the female might not even have raised her head or even dare geta a glance at her suitor or potential mate. Respectful, meek and humble, obediant to the wishes of the patriarchs who had arranged the blessed meeting. I suspect that although both the male and female prospects would of course be respectful enough to be obediant to the arrangement, I bet the male would be caught taking much time to inspect his bride.( Just conjecture, I am not sure I wasn't there but---)

Although the freedoms and choice of those who  marry in this pre-arranged fashion warrants a topic all to itself, going back centuries, bringing to mind the purposes behind many other similar pre-arranged marriages not too unlike that of Henry the VIII and Catherine of Aragon.

In Pre-arranged marriages the loss of choice is overidden by the benefits inherent to the event, including becoming blood with another family. And in Japan modern o-miai are set up by people who think of it as an alternative to finding a good mate to marry. When you can't find anybody on your own then you can always arrange a good ol' o-miai.

What is interesting in the Japanese O-miai is that it seems that Japanese women are peculiar in their insistence upon just the right mate. Compared to their male counterparts who seem more apt to take just any bride.

Compared to Romeo and Juliet or Maria and her adventues in the West Side, O-miai kekkon trades the freedom of choice of who you will marry for a quick and decisive somtimes diplomatic, but always a future that is stable, happy, secure, endearing, acceptable, financially stable, that has the definite potential to turn into a long lasting friendship and even more exciting types of firy love relationship. Conclusions - Free choice is sometimes overated.