Japanese death rituals in transit: From household ancestors to beloved antecedents

Abstract

The recent trend in contemporary Japanese funerals reflects changing family relationships, religious affiliation and individual values. Increasingly, Japanese people are conducting a living-funeral or a non-religious funeral (as opposed to a common Buddhist funeral), and dispersing ashes after cremation. Such funeral ceremonies and mortuary rites demonstrate the isolation of the elderly during the process of dying, the asymmetrical relationship between the deceased and the bereaved, and the attenuating ties between people and Buddhist temples. The fundamental change that underlies these transformation of funerary practices, I argue, is the shift from the ancestor worship that values the deceased for the purpose of household perpetuation, to the memorialism of individuals that celebrates the deceased's personal life based on the bereaved's love toward the deceased.

The role of the ancestral tradition in bereavement in contemporary Japanese society

“…These have been criticised for being overly formalised with an emphasis on commercial rather than spiritual matters. Funeral companies have similarly been given a bad press for their role in creating more pressure for bereaved people through promoting lavish, ostentatious send-offs (Prideaux, 2002;Suzuki, 1998Suzuki, , 2000. Both institutions play a key role in encouraging and perpetuating traditional rites and customs.…”

“…As a result, funerals are becoming more private, individual and diverse affairs that represent the final expression of the deceased person's life. Mourners' behaviour towards the dead has seen a shift in emphasis from veneration to memorialisation (Goss & Klass, 2005;Lock, 2002;Smith, 1983Smith, , 1999Suzuki, 1998). New burial trends, such as 'natural burials', no longer prioritise familial ties and succession, but allow people to choose how and with whom they want to be buried.…”

“…These changes have mainly been explored by studying how people materialise their loss through the overt rites and ceremonies that form such an integral and compelling feature of the ancestral tradition (see Murakami, 2000;Rowe, 2000Rowe, , 2003Suzuki, 1998Suzuki, , 2000Yamada, 2004). Medicalisation, commercialisation and the rise of the funeral industry, widespread cremation and advanced technology have been found to be having a significant impact on both practical and symbolic aspects of funerary and burial practices.…”

Modern Grief, Postmodern Grief

“…In modern urban Japan and China, mourning rituals entail not letting go of the dead but transforming them into an ancestor; the living go on into the future with, not without, the ancestors (Klass, 1996;Smith, 1974;Suzuki, 1998). It is not unusual for a modern Japanese housewife to offer a portion of breakfast not only at the table for the living but also at the household shrine to the dead; or for a business to consult the ancestors before making an important financial decision.…”

Introduction: Death issues in 21st century Japan

“…In both these varieties, the services of a funeral director are likely to be employed. Finally, there is the 'scattering of the ashes' or sankotsu, which not only eschews the involvement of Buddhists and funeral directors but also challenges the need for a grave of any sort (Suzuki, 1998). The Kawasaki's funeral was a development of these trends in that it eschewed all ceremonial, religious or secular, and declined the services not only of priests but of funeral directors as well.…”