Japanese Funerals

A detailed Summary of Japanese Funerals

In Japan, funeral procedures adhere strictly to traditional beliefs and customs, unlike Japanese weddings, which have been strongly affected over the years by Western influence. The beliefs and etiquette surrounding the funerary procedure is a splicing of Shinto, Buddhist, and Confucian beliefs. Most Japanese consider themselves as Shinto, Buddhist, or Shinto-Buddhist, yet it is important to the Japanese that the funeral ceremony is approached in the Buddhist practice. The traditional notions of death in Japan are also involved in the funeral process.

Traditional Japanese beliefs on death and funeral ceremony:

The Japanese people understand that the natural process of death is the final event of life, due to their relationship as a race with Buddhist and Shinto beliefs. According to Kimura, "Zen Buddhist phrases such as "accept death as it is" and "Life-death as one phenomenon" are key motifs integrated into Japanese culture" (1996, 374). True to Buddhist precepts, the Japanese also believe in re-incarnation, or the coming of a next life after one has ended. A Japanese funeral thus marks the end of a human life on earth.

Traditionally, the Japanese funeral is a very important ritual practice in Japanese society. The Japan

It is considered very important to attend the funeral of a family member or friend, and attendance or absence is noted and remembered. Mourners implicitly understand that they must wear black or dark blue, conservative attire unless otherwise instructed. Wearing red is particularly inappropriate as it is considered a joyful color. Men usually wear a black tie and women refrain from wearing jewelry, although a single strand of pearls is considered very appropriate to wear to a funeral.

It is customary, in fact almost mandatory, that mourners bring a monetary offering to a Japanese funeral. Cash gifts known as 'koden' are given to the deceased's family to help with funeral costs. 'Koden' literally means, "this is for your incense expenses". The amount of money given is relative to the mourner's degree of closeness with the deceased and his/her family. The amount of koden one should give is also influenced by the amount of koden one might have received in similar circumstances from the deceased or their family. It is thus also important that mourners give an appropriate amount, as the family will feel obligated to repay this gesture some day. Koden is collected by an attendant at the funeral, usually at the entrance to the place where the funeral is held. Crisp, new or ironed bills must be placed neatly into a special envelope (with black and white ribbons or wire) with the mourner's name on the front and the amount of koden given on the back. Flowers are not given in lieu of koden but in addition: white and yellow christantheums are typically given and/or arranged by funeral directors at a funeral.

Funeral ceremony, and associated customs:

Once the body is cremated, from the ashes the bones of the deceased are passed from person to person (usually only family and close relatives) via chopsticks and placed into the urn. The bones that have been placed in the urn are then pulverized except for the pieces of the skull, which are placed on top of the rest so that the remains of the person are seen to be 'right side up'. It is considered bad luck by the ostensibly su

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Category: Foreign