Just Divorced

Divorce ceremonies are becoming common in Japan, with a very special ritual that includes divorce vows and smashing a cream pie in the face of the one who decided to break up. We went to Tokyo and followed Sunao, Risa and their guests on this crazy, crazy day. 

- Katie Breen

It’s hard to know what to call this man: an unmarrier? a divorcer? Hiroki Terai is a former commercial employee who has achieved unprecedented clarity about the torments of the Japanese soul, which has allowed him to find an answer to the unease of unhappily married couples when they come apart. It all started in 2009, when two of his friends decided to separate. As he was trying to help them, he had a stroke of genius and created a brand new ritual: the “rikonshiki”, or divorce ceremony. Since then, he has “divorced” over 350 couples, mostly in the Tokyo region.

Today, Mr. Terai holds a bouquet of yellow flowers in his hands as he welcomes Sunao Kumura, a 38 year-old man in a black suit and white tie, and Risa Kumura, the 30 year-old woman who is still his wife, but only for a few more hours. Westerners see chrysanthemums as a sign of loss or bereavement. But these are in fact sacred flowers in Japan, and yellow is the colour of nobility and success.

Sunao and Risa have come here to have a successful divorce. Family and friends arrive in small groups and enter the Faro, an office building in an unusual architectural style, and gather inside the reception room. As she waits for the ceremony to begin, Risa buries her face in her hands. She isn’t crying, as it would be shameful to be so emotional in public, but it is obvious that she feels very bad: her husband was the one who asked for a divorce, she didn’t want to break up.