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Breakdown of the Kanji

披露 (hirō: introduction)     to reveal + to expose

母の兄弟に披露するために、披露宴をやった。
Haha no kyōdai ni hirō suru tame ni, hirōen o yatta.
In order to introduce (the bride) to my mother’s siblings, they had a wedding reception.

(haha: mother)
兄弟 (kyōdai: siblings)
     older brother + younger brother
披露宴 (hirōen: (wedding) reception)
     to reveal + to expose + banquet

A banquet! That’s one of the few times (woman) takes part in a kanji with a positive meaning (in this case, ). Brimming with excitement, I turned to Henshall to find out how this kanji came into existence. Alas, I shouldn’t have been so excited. The top part, roof.png , means “roof.” The rest is a defunct character; combining “sun” or “bright” () with woman () yielded “dazzling woman.” This served as a euphemistic reference to prostitutes! So referred to a house of prostitutes, and by association that led to “banquet.” Hmph.

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