Mediate Michigan

On a Saturday night in Tokyo’s Asakusa district, a woman in a floral kimono and a man in a boxy dark suit silently waited side by side. First, one black rickshaw pulled up to them. Moments later, another cart arrived. With a small nod to each other, the couple moved to board their separate chariots en route to the night’s main event: their divorce ceremony.

As he rolled through the dim residential side streets behind his ex-wife, Fumikazu sat low, clasping and unclasping his hands, keeping his eyes on his shoes. The divorce ceremony — a new, niche ritual for commemorating failed marriages in Japan — wasn’t his idea. Although the couple formally ended their three-year union in 2008, his ex-wife, Atsuko Saiki, recently met a new man and plans to remarry in the fall. She heard about these ceremonies online and wanted closure.

via Divorce Ceremonies Are Big in Japan – NYTimes.com.