A is a special envelope in which money

Money

Money is any object or record that is generally accepted as payment for goods and services and repayment of debts in a given country or socio-economic context. The main functions of money are distinguished as: a medium of exchange; a unit of account; a store of value; and, occasionally in the past,...

 is given as a gift at wedding

Wedding

A wedding is the ceremony in which two people are united in marriage or a similar institution. Wedding traditions and customs vary greatly between cultures, ethnic groups, religions, countries, and social classes...

s in Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

.

It is very common in Japan to give a gift of money at weddings. The giver inserts the money into a shūgi-bukuro on which they have written their name. The shūgi-bukuro is handed to the receptionist of the reception party

Wedding reception

A wedding reception is a party held after the completion of a marriage ceremony. It is held usually as hospitality for those who have attended the wedding, hence the name reception: the couple receives society, in the form of family and friends, for the first time as a married couple. Hosts...

. Shūgi-bukuro are sold at supermarkets and stationery stores.

Amount given

The amount given in shūgi-bukuro differs according to the givers relationship to the couple, their social status and the style of venue. In the case of friends or company colleagues, it is usually between ¥20,000 and ¥30,000. In the case of close friends or those in a senior position at the bride or bridegroom’s company, ¥30,000 to ¥50,000 is common, and in the case of relatives, ¥50,000 to ¥100,000 is not unusual.

For married couples that attend the wedding ¥50,000 would be common, as opposed to unmarried couples where each person would give a separate amount say ¥30,000 each.

It is common to give amounts in which the leading digit(s) form an odd number, such as ¥10,000 or ¥30,000, in order to symbolize the fact that the newly married couple cannot be divided. When the leading digit forms an even number, as in ¥20,000, the amount is usually given in an odd number of bills (e.g. 1 x ¥10,000 and 2 x ¥5,000). Amounts in which the leading digit forms a multiple of 4, such as ¥40,000, are not recommended since the number 4 in Japanese can be pronounced

Pronunciation

Pronunciation refers to the way a word or a language is spoken, or the manner in which someone utters a word. If one is said to have "correct pronunciation", then it refers to both within a particular dialect....

 as shi

Shi (kana)

し, in hiragana, or シ in katakana, and the variant form ㋛, is one of the Japanese kana, which each represent one mora. Both represent the phoneme although for phonological reasons, the actual pronunciation is . The shapes of these kana have origins in the character 之...

which is the same as the pronunciation of the Japanese

Japanese language

is a language spoken by over 130 million people in Japan and in Japanese emigrant communities. It is a member of the Japonic language family, which has a number of proposed relationships with other languages, none of which has gained wide acceptance among historical linguists .Japanese is an...

 word for death. Likewise, multiples of 9 are avoided because the pronunciation of this number can mean suffering.