Funeral in Japan. Funeral rites in Japan Japanese traditions at a wedding funeral

Thanatology, the science of death, has always been the cornerstone of the culture of human society, since understanding death provides an answer to the question of the meaning of human life. Nothing reveals the worldview and mentality of a particular historical community to such an extent as the specifics of funeral rites. Funerals are one of the most important rituals life cycle person. They serve a dual purpose: to redistribute relationships between family members in a new way, and also to demonstrate - not least through their high costs - the family's sense of self-respect and its social status.

Japanese rituals associated with the burial of the dead have been known for a long time. In ancient times, Japanese funerals of the nobility required, for example, that one of the deceased's close friends or employees commit hara-kiri in order to be buried nearby. Burials with the deceased “models” were also allowed loved one, they did the same with the necessary things - they put the model in the tomb. Also in Japan there were the most different ways burials, including such exotic ones as burial on a tree or in water (in the sea, lake), but the main ones, nevertheless, were two methods: the so-called “air burial” (i.e., abandonment, or, simply, throwing out a body in the mountains or other deserted areas) and inhumation (burial in the ground). At the same time, “air burial” was especially common among the common people, and among the nobility it took the form of a temporary exhibition of the body of the deceased, followed by permanent burial - burial in the ground.

In the 19th century, Japanese rituals began to “adapt” to new fashion- burning of bodies. The Japanese cemetery became empty and lost its noble dead. The ceremony of burning the body was magnificent, and took place in front of many people, because the more magnificent and rich the funeral, the better the deceased will be in the kingdom of the dead. Then, with the spread of Buddhism in the masses, wandering preachers began to zealously correct the “barbaric” way of handling the bodies of the dead: they collected remains from the mountains and forests that lay under open air, burned them and performed funeral ceremonies. Thus, in Japan, “air burial” was gradually completely replaced.

How things are going now

As death approaches, family members and immediate relatives offer the dying person a “last sip of water.” In fact, his lips are simply moistened with water. Immediately after death the body is washed hot water(yukan), and family members dress the deceased in special white robes (kekatabira - “robe of death”) or in his favorite clothes. The washed and dressed body is laid without a pillow with its head facing north (the direction associated with death) and covered with a sheet or white cloth. The knife, which is believed to be able to scare away evil spirits, is placed on the chest (in Buddhist funerals) or next to the head (in Shinto funerals). A small inverted screen is placed next to the body, and behind it there is a table with a vase, a candlestick and an incense burner. Sometimes a cup of water and a bowl of boiled rice are also placed there. Candles and incense sticks burn constantly. A priest from the Buddhist temple to which the family is traditionally assigned reads the sutras at the deathbed and gives the deceased a posthumous Buddhist name (kaime).

Throughout the mourning period, which lasts from 7 to 49 days, a death notice is posted on the front door of the house or on the gate, which is written on white paper in a black frame. After the ritual cleansing of the body and deathbed rites are completed on the same or the next day, the deceased is placed in an unpainted wooden coffin made of pine, spruce or Japanese cypress (hinoki). The coffin can be ordinary, where the body is placed in a supine position, or, more often, in the form of a square box or barrel, in which the body is in a sitting position with the head bent to the knees. Personal belongings of the deceased, such as glasses, may also be placed in the coffin with the body. The coffin is covered with a lid almost all the time while they are going on in the house. funeral rites, and is hammered with nails only before it is taken out of the house.

A funeral vigil at the body of the deceased used to be held throughout the night in order to express grief for the deceased and pray for the repose of his soul. Currently, its truncated form has come into practice from 19 to 21 hours. A Buddhist priest reads sutras while mourners take turns lighting incense. At the end of the ceremony, a memorial meal is offered by the family of the deceased. Meat dishes are not included, but sake, tea, and sweets are usually served. Participants in the mourning ceremony bring monetary donations in white envelopes tied with white-black or white-silver ribbon. They often send flowers.

The day after the vigil ceremony, a memorial service is held in the home of the deceased, in the parish Buddhist temple or in the funeral hall. An altar is prepared, on which a memorial plaque with the posthumous name, a photograph of the deceased, candles, incense burners, flowers and some Buddhist utensils are placed. The family of the deceased sits on the right side of the altar, and other relatives and friends sit on the left, facing the altar. The rest of the ceremony participants sit in the back. The service begins with the recitation of sutras by a Buddhist priest and ends with the burning of incense by family members and other relatives of the deceased to the sound of sutra readings. The priest and relatives then step aside to allow other participants in the ceremony to approach the altar and pay their last respects to the deceased by burning incense.

Previously, burning took place in a certain order. The relatives of the deceased leave the house an hour before, followed in a palanquin by the priest and his assistants. Next in the procession comes a torchbearer and singers who sing hymns. After them, according to tradition, everyone else follows in pairs, and the processions are closed by servants, on whose spears the name of the deceased is emblazoned. At the end of the procession a stretcher is carried with the body dressed in white robes. The deceased is placed in a praying position. A fire is made on the mountain. When the stretcher is visible, a mournful cry rises, to the sound of which the corpse is placed on a pyramidal pyre. On both sides of the structure there are tables - on one side with fruit dishes, on the other - with a brazier and coals and pieces of aloe. At this time, the priest begins chants, which are picked up by everyone who came. Having circled the head of the deceased three times with a torch, the priest passes the torch youngest son, which lights the fire at the head of the bed. At this time, everyone begins to throw pieces of aloe, resin into the fire, and pour aromatic oils. After the fire engulfs the entire pyramid, they are supposed to disperse, leaving the food for the poor.

After the body is burned, family members collect bone fragments (legs, arms, head) and ashes into a small urn (kotsubo) and take them home. At the same time, in some crematoria only large bones are collected and small ones are thrown away, but experts in rituals recommend collecting all the remains if possible. To do this, you need a large urn into which they would fit entirely. Wealthy people buy urns worth up to several million yen (several tens of thousands of dollars). The urn is placed on a small table along with a temporary plaque with the posthumous name written on it, a photograph of the deceased, and an incense burner in front of the Buddhist altar (butsudan). Around the altar for the next 49 days in the event of the death of a man (35 days for a woman), relatives and friends of the deceased gather every seven days for memorial services. Each time, a Buddhist priest reads sutras, incense is lit, and refreshments are offered to participants.

At this time, family members wear mourning (at least they dress modestly), and it is associated with a ban on visiting other families during this period; they are forced to abstain from entertainment, weddings, traditional seasonal celebrations and other similar events for at least 49 days or one year. 49 or 35 days - this period corresponds to the period required, according to Buddhist teaching, for the soul to travel through the hellish regions for the purpose of purification. The 49th day marks the completion of the process of purifying the spirit of the deceased and transforming it into the spirit of the ancestor. At this point, the temporary memorial plaque is removed, and a new, now permanent, plaque is placed in the altar, where the plaques of other previously deceased family members are located.

The urn containing the ashes of the deceased is buried in the cemetery; this is usually done at the conclusion of the memorial service on the 49th day of death, but no later than the 100th. If even after a hundred days the relative cannot provide the deceased with a grave, then the urn with the ashes is temporarily placed in a Buddhist temple, where memorial services are performed for the deceased. Sometimes relatives share the ashes among themselves during burial, which is condemned by the Buddhist Church. Instead, it is recommended to separate the deceased's favorite items or strands of his hair and bless them.

A place of peace

The cemetery is usually located in a green area of ​​the city on a hill or mountain slope next to a Buddhist temple. The graves are arranged in a clean and bright place, completely open to sunlight in the afternoon. Ideally, it should face southeast. However, on modern cemeteries, where graves are often back-to-back, it can be difficult to find the right site.

After the period of mourning has expired, a monument with an inscription or image of Buddha is placed on the grave. The vast majority of graves in modern Japan are marked with a grave stone stele, which has the family name carved on the front side and reverse side There is a niche where, as members of a given family die, urns with their ashes are placed. The personal names of the deceased are usually carved on the sides or back wall of the stele. In principle, each generation of a family should have its own separate tombstone, but since there is often not enough space, they are limited to one monument for all generations. However, there are also graves where personal tombstones are installed for each deceased.

The deceased continues to be considered a member of the family and is truly communicated with as if he were alive. For example, a schoolboy, having received a certificate, carries it to show it to his late grandparents, presenting him on his knees in front of the altar with a short story about the circumstances of receipt. The ancestors are also told about important purchases and can often leave new property at the altar for several days.

P.S. For the curious:

Nowadays, you won’t find any TOP on the Internet. And so we bring to your attention the TOP 10 “The strangest funeral rituals”:

10. “Merry Funeral” or “Striptease in the Cemetery”

In the Chinese province of Donghai, funerals were considered a rather boring event. In addition, the status of the deceased is determined by how many people came to say goodbye to him. And, apparently, in order to attract as much as possible more people at the funeral, to somehow brighten up the time of farewell to the deceased, and at the same time entertain those present, they began to invite... STRIPTEERS to the funeral ceremony!!!

9. “Famadikhana” - dancing with a dead person

On the African island of Madagascar there is a strange custom called famadikhana- the ritual of swaddling and reburial of the dead. Famadikhana - communication between living family members and ancestors, the second funeral - is usually held several years (every seven years) after death, when the body dries out. The day is appointed by a healer or astrologer, which is usually Wednesday. Close relatives take the deceased out of the grave, carry him into the courtyard and place him on a platform in the north-eastern corner of the courtyard. Musicians and actors from traditional Malagasy theater are hired for the ceremony. Crying is strictly forbidden, everyone speaks kindly and cheerfully with the ancestor, and then sits down at the table with refreshments for all relatives and friends. The body is then wrapped in a new shroud of homespun silk, dyed with a decoction of the natu tree, which does not decay in the ground. A scrap from the sheet on which the deceased was carried brings good luck, so at the end of the procession a crowd attacks the sheet. When evening comes, the deceased is taken to the cemetery and carried around the grave three times. This is necessary so that he cannot get out of there and harm the living. At this point, famadikhana is considered completed.

8. "Sky Burial"

The life of Tibetan Buddhists takes place in a harsh climate in mountainous areas, which makes it impossible to bury a person in the ground. But the wise Tibetans found a way to conduct the body in last path- They chop the corpse into pieces, mix it with flour and leave the mixture for the vultures who are already waiting nearby. These birds of prey are believed to be Dakinis, the female aspects of the Buddha, analogues of angels. Dakinis raise the souls of the dead to heaven, where they await their next reincarnation. Thus, the soul returns to nature, and the body does not have any value, because it is a vessel for the soul.

7. Funeral in Tana Thoraya

In the Indonesian province of Tana Toraya, a very long time passes between the death of a person and his recognition as dead. Here the deceased is called “sleeping”, mummified and kept in a tomb for years until preparations are underway to the final ritual rite. It is believed that the soul of the “sleeping” person at this time is preparing to travel to the land of spirits, and he himself has not yet died, but is only sick. “Officially” death occurs when the body of the deceased is thrown up several times and then placed with its feet facing south. Dozens of doll-like figures can be seen in cave graves carved into rock crevices.

These figures, called tau-tau, guard the peace of the dead buried right behind them. A funeral is a very important event, usually attended by hundreds of people, and the burial ceremony itself is accompanied by music and dancing. Often, a family will keep the body of a deceased relative in the house for a year or more until they have enough money to pay for the funeral.

6. “Memory Diamond” or life after death

What will be discussed in this part is not the plot of a horror film, but the realities of our time. In Europe and the United States, fashion jewelry is now made from deceased relatives and beloved animals. “Memory Diamonds” is the name given to synthetic crystals created from the ashes of a deceased person. It is impossible to distinguish a “memory diamond” from other synthetic diamonds. Today, there are only two companies in the world that produce high-quality synthetic diamonds to order from the ashes of the dead - the Swiss Algordanza - Jewel from a Man and the American LifeGem. At the same time, Swiss diamonds from deceased relatives are produced on the basis of technologies developed in Troitsk near Moscow at the Technological Institute of Superhard and New Carbon Materials (FGU TISNUM). Russian technologies make it possible to produce synthetic diamonds, which are in no way inferior in quality to natural ones. IN general outline The process of turning the ashes of a deceased person into a diamond is as follows. First, an agreement is drawn up and the customer pays 50% of the cost. A stone ranging in size from 0.4 to 1 carat will cost 3,000-12,000 euros.

5. The coffin is a whim

In the African country of Ghana, in the city of Teshi, a coffin manufacturing company is thriving, the motto of which is “Every whim of yours is law for us!” This company produces “fantasy coffins” to order, which, as a rule, reflect the lifetime profession of the deceased or satisfy the whims and fantasies of his relatives.

4. Endocannibalism

Endocannibalism is perhaps the most terrible and wild ritual rite of all existing on earth. Endocannibalism - eating people with whom you are related - is common in New Guinea. By the way, only women of the Fori and Gimi tribes eat dead relatives so that they are reborn in their wombs. After such a “meal”, men gratefully offer their wives pork - the favorite meat delicacy of representatives of these tribes. This custom is associated with the belief in rebirth, moreover, earthly rebirth from the womb of an earthly woman who took into herself the flesh of a deceased relative.

3. Self-mummification (sokushinbutsu)

Self-mummification (sokushinbutsu) is an ancient ritual that originated in Japan more than 11 centuries ago. In the north of the island of Honshu, two temples have been preserved since the 9th century - Dainichibo and Churenji. It was here that the monks lived, who mummified themselves during their lifetime. Self-mummification - a religious ritual, and not a perverted form of suicide - is a complex and lengthy process that consists of several stages. At first, the monks changed their diet and only ate nuts and seeds from the local forest. After 1000 days, the fat layer practically disappeared, and the next stage of killing the flesh began, when the monk ate only the bark and roots of trees and drank a minimal amount of water. At the third stage, the monk drank special tea infused with the sap of a lacquer tree, which is used to varnish dishes in China and Japan. This poisonous tea rid the body of bacteria and worm larvae. If, despite all the above tortures, a person remained alive, then he independently crawled through a narrow gap into a stone bag, which was supposed to become his grave. The monk struck the bell, signaling that he was still alive. When the bell stopped ringing, the stone bag was walled up. A couple of years later the body was removed and examined. If mummification was successful, the body was displayed as a divine manifestation of the Buddha. Otherwise, they walled it up again.

2. Samsara - voluntary death

In 2006, a cancer patient named Vilma Delvi died in India. But her death was in no way connected with a serious illness. The voluntary death that the woman accepted followed a 13-day fast, which is called samsara. Samsara usually begins after a person decides that he has achieved his goal in life and is ready for spiritual cleansing. Of course, not everyone in India approves of samsara, as it is considered a form of suicide or euthanasia, but preventing samsara is considered unacceptable and can lead to expulsion from society.

1. “Exhibition” of a corpse

One of the oldest world religions - Zoroastrianism - offers its own way of burying the dead. The main thing in ritual rituals for followers of this religion is the preservation of the purity of natural elements, therefore they recognize such ritual forms as burial in the ground or burning of the body as a great sin. The traditional method of “burial” is the display of a corpse, in which the body is left in an open, specially prepared place or in a special structure - a “tower of silence” - for disposal by birds and dogs. The “Tower of Silence” is a round tower without a roof, where corpses were placed and tied so that birds could not carry away large parts of the body. This custom is explained by the fact that for Zoroastrians a corpse is not a person, but a defiling matter. After cleaning the skeleton from soft tissues and drying the bones, they are placed in urns.

Japanese funerals (Japanese so:gi?) include a funeral service, cremation of the deceased, burial in a family grave, and periodic memorial services. As of 2007, approximately 99.81% of deaths in Japan were cremated. Most of them were later buried in family graves, but in recent years scattering of ashes, burial at sea, or launching capsules containing the deceased into space is gaining popularity. The average cost of a Japanese funeral is 2.3 million yen, which is one of the highest in the world. One of the main reasons for this high cost is the lack of space in cemeteries (especially in Tokyo). Another is the inflated prices in Japanese funeral halls, as well as the hesitation of relatives of the deceased to negotiate funeral conditions and compare prices. In recent years, more and more Japanese families are choosing to opt for more modest and less expensive funeral arrangements.
Since in Japan there is an interweaving of beliefs (see Religion in Japan), funerals usually take place according to Buddhist rites. After death, the lips of the deceased are moistened with water - this is called the Death Water ceremony (Japanese: matsugo no mizu?). The family tomb is covered with white paper to protect the deceased from unclean spirits. This is called kamidana-fuji. A small table decorated with flowers, incense and candles is placed next to the bed of the deceased. A knife may be placed on the chest of the deceased to ward off evil spirits.
Relatives and superiors are notified, and a death certificate is issued. According to custom, the eldest son takes responsibility for organizing the funeral. The temple is then contacted to determine the date of the ceremony: some believe that certain days will be more auspicious. For example, some days, which according to superstitious beliefs occur once a month, are called tomobiki (Japanese ?); these days all affairs end in failure, and funerals entail someone else's death. The body is washed and the holes are plugged with cotton or gauze. For men, the final clothing is a suit, and for women, a kimono. Although sometimes kimonos are used for men, in general, this is not very popular. Makeup is also applied to improve the appearance. The body is then placed on dry ice - for the most practical, a coffin, a white kimono, sandals and six coins are also placed in it in order to cross the Sanzu River; Also, things that the deceased loved during life (for example, cigarettes or candy) are placed in the coffin. Next, the coffin is placed on the altar so that the head faces north or west (Buddhists mainly do this to prepare the soul for the journey to Western Paradise).
Despite the fact that in the old days it was customary to wear white clothes to funerals, now people come in black. Men wear a black suit with a white shirt and black tie, and women wear either a black dress or a black kimono. If the family of the deceased was committed to Buddhism, then guests usually bring with them prayer beads, which are called juzu (Japanese?). Guests can bring money as a sign of condolence in a special envelope decorated with silver and black flowers. Depending on the relationship with the deceased and his wealth, this amount can vary from 3,000 to 30,000 yen. Guests and relatives sit closer, and the Buddhist priest begins to read a passage from the sutra. Each family member burns incense three times before the deceased. At the same time, guests perform the same rituals in other places. As soon as the priest finishes the reading, the funeral service ends. Each invited guest gives a gift, the value of which is half or a quarter of the money he presents in the envelope. Close relatives can stay and serve the vigil overnight.
The funeral usually takes place the day after the funeral service. Incense is also lit and the priest reads the sutra. During the ceremony, the deceased is given a new Buddhist name - kaimyo (Japanese kaimyo:?). This allows you not to disturb the soul of the deceased when his real name is mentioned. The length and prestige of the name depend on the life expectancy of the deceased, but most often on the size of the donations made by the family to the temple. Thus, the names are ranked from free and cheap to rare ones that can cost a million yen or more. The high prices charged by temples are a frequent topic of debate in Japan, especially since some temples put pressure on many families to buy a more expensive name. Typically, the kanji used in these kaimyo are very old and not used in common names so few can read them. At the end of the ceremony, before the coffin is placed in a decorated hearse and taken to the crematorium, guests and relatives may place flowers on the head and shoulders of the deceased. In some regions of Japan, it is customary for the deceased's closest relative to nail the coffin shut using a stone instead of a hammer.
Currently, a person who attends a funeral is considered defiled. Before entering his house, he must sprinkle fine salt on his shoulders, and also throw some salt on the ground and step on it with his feet in order to cleanse himself both above and below, and not bring filth into the house - everyone receives a bag of this salt participant in the funeral ceremony before leaving home. When visiting a cemetery, such a ritual is not performed, since apparently no desecration occurs.

Country rising sun attracts with its mysterious and unknown to us traditions. How are people buried in Japan? Let's talk about the rather sad burial procedure. The average life expectancy of the Japanese is approximately 80 years. Funeral ceremonies in this mysterious country differ from each other due to different religions. First, the person is given a funeral service, then cremated and buried in a family grave. After the funeral, memorial services are required.

Since ancient times it has been said that the richer the funeral, the better off the deceased will be in the next world.

Japan is a state of progress, so the road to another world is not complete without the use of advanced technologies. Even in the cemetery, everything sparkles with neon light, and the work is done with the help of robots. You have to pay quite a bit for a funeral in this country. a large sum money, which is associated with a shortage of places in the cemetery.

The funeral service, taking advantage of this, unreasonably raises prices, which people cannot resist.

Funeral rites

Most often, burial takes place according to Buddhist and Shinto canons. First there is the Water Ceremony, during which the lips of the deceased are moistened with water. To drive out evil spirits, the tomb is covered with white paper, and a knife is placed on the chest of the deceased. At the head of the table, incense with incense is lit, chopsticks are inserted into a bowl of rice, and rice buns are laid out on white paper.

Close people and colleagues are notified of the incident. A death certificate is issued. The closest relatives are responsible for organizing the funeral:

• wife;
• eldest son

They agree on the date of burial, since once a month there are undesirable days when it is impossible to see them off on their last journey. It is believed that failure to comply with the custom can bring death to someone.

After death, the body, as in our rituals, is washed. The person's natural openings are covered with cotton or gauze. Women wear kimonos, men wear national clothes or a suit. They apply makeup. The body is covered with a blanket turned inside out and a golden cape. The coffin is nailed shut, using a stone instead of a hammer. The bottom of the coffin is filled with ice. A white kimono, 6 coins, sandals and things that the deceased loved are also placed there. The coffin is placed on the altar with its head to the north and its face to the west. The body of the dead Buddha lay in this position.

Funeral ceremony

People are supposed to be seen off on their last journey in black clothes. Men wear suits with a white shirt, women a dress or kimono. People carry money in special envelopes as a sign of condolences. The priest performs the funeral service for the deceased, and family members must burn incense three times.

The funeral procession is usually scheduled for the day after the funeral service.

The deceased is given a new Buddhist name, the length of which depends on the number of years lived. The longer the life of the deceased, the longer the new name. You have to pay the temple for the name. The coffin is placed on a hearse and sent for cremation.

Cremation and funeral

After the cremation, which lasts about 2 hours, two members of the family transfer the bones from the ashes to the urn with long sticks. Dropping a bone is a bad omen. Transferring from sticks to sticks is not allowed. The ashes must be divided into 2 parts. One urn is given to the family and the other remains in the temple. The urn may be left in the house for several days or sent directly to the cemetery.

Most often, the Japanese bury themselves in family graves. They can even put the name of a still living person on the monument, but only in red.

Each person who attends the funeral receives a bag of salt. He must sprinkle it on his shoulders in front of his house and throw it on the ground, stepping on the salt with his feet in order to cleanse himself of filth.

Funeral rites

After the funeral, memorial services are traditionally held, depending on local customs. Followers of Buddhism believe that the soul spends 49 days between heaven and earth. Therefore, at the end of time, a memorial service is held for the soul to go to heaven. On the 7th day they also commemorate it, since believers say that on these days the soul is tested 7 times.

In Japan, a deceased person is considered a family member until two generations have passed.

02.06.2014

Death and funeral in Japan

About 1.3 million people die each year in Japan, a figure that is gradually rising as the population ages and is expected to reach close to 2 million by 2035. With an average life expectancy of more than 80 years, the Japanese most often die, as in other developed countries, from heart disease and oncology. About 45 thousand private and public companies are involved in the field of funeral services with an annual income of about 1.5 trillion yen.

Despite the abundance of atheists and agnostics, more than 90% of funerals are conducted according to Buddhist rites with some inclusions of Shinto traditions. According to Buddhist beliefs, the soul of the deceased remains next to the body for 49 days before leaving for the next world. There is a funeral ritual that is guaranteed to provide the soul with an easy journey and protect relatives from unnecessary contacts with the other world. As in Russia, the circumstances of death, the wealth of relatives and the volume of ritual rites vary extremely, lavish funeral in a rich religious family and a free state burial are two different things, so the following text is a kind of generalization.

Day one: Death, preparation of the body and all-night vigil

If the death occurred at home, the doctor establishes the fact of death, determines whether there are grounds for a post-mortem examination of the body and issues a death certificate. Autopsies are relatively rare in Japan. They often resort to a so-called virtual autopsy when the cause of death is determined based on the results of a computed tomography scan. Full autopsies are performed when the circumstances of death are unclear and medical malpractice is suspected. In cases of violent death or suicide, an autopsy is not always performed, especially if the cause of death is not in doubt at first glance. The desire to preserve the body intact before cremation is associated with Buddhist beliefs, when post-mortem damage to a corpse is equated to mockery and can anger or offend the spirit of the deceased. This nuance leads to the fact that some murders in Japan are not solved, so without an autopsy it is difficult to distinguish, for example, a murder from a staged suicide. That is why in Russia all cases of violent death are subject to mandatory post-mortem examination, regardless of the opinion of relatives on this matter or the orders of the deceased himself.

Parting

Farewell room

After death, a representative of the funeral company comes to the relatives, and issues of the place and time of the funeral are resolved. A funeral director, or chief mourner, is appointed. Most often, this role is taken on by the person closest to the deceased - husband, wife, eldest son. The funeral company's employees then wash the body of the deceased, a ritual called Matsugo no mizu (Post-mortem washing). In the past, this role was performed by close people of the deceased, but now more and more often this difficult ritual is entrusted to professionals. Embalming is not usually performed. Often, large hospitals have representative offices of funeral companies that can organize farewells on the premises of the clinic.

Usually the body is laid out in the room where the family altar is located for farewell prayer. If for some reason it is not possible to place the body at home (for example, due to the small size or inappropriate appearance of the room), then it is placed in a special hall of the funeral company, also called the “Hotel for the Dead.” The home altar (if there is one) is sealed with white paper to protect the sacred place from the unclean spirit of the deceased, regardless of where the farewell is held.

Inside the room

Funeral clothing

Clothes for the deceased

Men are buried in a black suit, while the bodies of women and children are dressed in a white kyokabara kimono. White all robes and many decorations are associated with the pilgrimage of Buddhists - this manifests the Buddhist belief that after death people become a kind of pilgrims to another world.

How to wear a kimono correctly

The sequence in which clothes are put on is important: the hems are wrapped from right to left, then the backs of the hands and wrists are covered, a pair of leg warmers and straw slippers are put on the feet, a rosary is placed in the hands, a white triangular scarf is tied around the head. For men, suit buttons are buttoned from the bottom up. The body is covered with a quilt turned inside out. The place where the deceased lies is fenced off with an inverted screen. All these are elements of Sakigoto - a funeral ritual, when all actions are performed in reverse, inverted, in order to confuse the spirit of death and he could not come for any other relatives. Doing this in everyday life is a bad sign. Therefore, if you wear a kimono, pay attention to this. By the way, if you saw popular anime Bleach series take a closer look at the clothing of the Shinigami gods of death.

Why you can't stick chopsticks into rice

Incense and incense are lit on a table at the head, a cup of rice is placed and chopsticks are stuck vertically into it (this is why you cannot stick chopsticks into rice in everyday life), and rice buns are laid out on a piece of white paper. The table is also decorated with burning candles, white chrysanthemums and shiki - Japanese magnolias. The decoration of the deathbed is called makura kazari, literally “pillow decoration.”

The head of the deceased should be turned to the north and the face to the west. After death, the Buddha's body lay in this position. According to Japanese beliefs, the spirit of the deceased is likened to the Buddha, as it achieves enlightenment and nirvana, therefore “becoming a Buddha” is a euphemism for the word “die”. The temple holds a service for the deceased, it is called Karitsuya, which means “Temporary All-Night Vigil”.

Day two: Khontsuya

Relatives spend all day and all night near the body of the deceased, keeping candles and incense sticks burning, in prayers and without sleep, this ritual is called Khontsuya.

Parting

First, a Buddhist priest comes into the hall and reads the sutra loudly. The chief steward then performs a ritual called Shoko, burning incense to honor the spirit of the deceased. After this, everyone present, in order of blood relationship, repeats his manipulations. The deceased is given a new name - Kayme. Usually Kaime is made up of rare hieroglyphs, often already out of use. It is believed that having received a new name, the spirit of the deceased person will not be disturbed when loved ones mention his real name. Saying aloud to the Kaime of dead people is considered bad omen. With the exception of the emperor, who is given a posthumous name at birth, it is not customary in Japan to choose a posthumous name during life.

Day Three: Funeral

Coffin

Before the funeral service, the deceased is placed in a hitsugi coffin. A piece of cotton fabric is placed at the bottom of the coffin. The absence of metal and glass objects is also checked, as they can melt or explode during cremation.

Noshibukuro for funeral

Friends and acquaintances of the deceased who gathered for the funeral offer condolences and hand over money in special envelopes. The amount varies depending on wealth and proximity to the deceased and can range from $50 to $1000. Money in envelopes is placed on a separate special table. Telegrams of condolences are read out. Speeches are heard in memory of the deceased.

Cremation (Kasou)

Urns for ashes

Although there is a small Christian diaspora in Japan, 99% of bodies are cremated. After the last farewells, the body is covered with a golden cape or covered with a coffin lid. In some areas of Japan, there is a tradition of nailing the coffin shut using a stone. Each family member of the deceased hammers a nail. If you manage to hammer a nail in one or two blows, this is a guarantee of good luck in the future. The coffin with the body is sent into the crematorium oven while the sutras are read. Complete cremation of the body of a large adult takes about one and a half hours, and of a child, about half an hour. Gathered relatives and friends await the end of the cremation in an adjacent hall, where they are served tea. They usually remember funny and interesting stories from the life of the deceased.

Transferring remains to an urn

At the end of the cremation, family members of the deceased return to the crematorium hall and receive the remains on a special tray. After that, the bones preserved after cremation are removed from the ashes using special sticks. Relatives line up in order of seniority (from the oldest to the youngest), passing chopsticks to each other, and place them in a chain in the urn. At the same time great value sequence is given, the bones are shifted from the leg bones to the head bones so that the body in the urn is not screwed down. Dropping a relative's bone is considered a very bad omen. This is the only ceremony in Japan where it is acceptable to pass something to each other with chopsticks. After all the bones have been moved to the urn, the remaining ashes are poured into it. In most other countries, in order not to embarrass a relative with the sight of charred bones, they are ground in a special industrial mixer.

Grave (Haka)

grave

Consists of a stone monument with a flower vase and a compartment for an urn with ashes (at the back of the monument). It is normal practice to separate the ashes for burial in several graves, such as family and corporate graves, or in the case of the death of a wife, the ashes may be divided between the graves of the husband's family and the woman's parents. This is done if families live far from each other and sharing the ashes will make it easier to visit the graves in the future. Since graves are often family graves, the largest text indicates not the name of the deceased, but the name of the family and the date of its construction. The names of people buried in this place are indicated in smaller print on the front surface of the monument.

In the past, it was a popular practice to make a single gravestone including the names of all living relatives in the family. The names of those who have not yet died are painted red. Nowadays such gravestones can still be found, but less and less often. People get married, move abroad, radically change their lives, and graves become unnecessary or irrelevant. In addition, many Japanese these days consider it a bad sign. Also, you will never see photographs on Japanese graves; the practice of installing photographs on monuments quite surprises the Japanese who visit Russian cemeteries.

Columbarium

The extremely high cost of graves led to the emergence of multi-story columbariums, the so-called Ohaka no manshon (Burial houses). These are essentially spacious rooms divided into compact lockers (much like the beautifully decorated lockers at the gym).

Grave robbing

Despite the lack of valuables in Japanese monuments as such, the ashes of people themselves have more than once become the object of theft. Thus, the remains of the famous Japanese writer Yukio Mishima were stolen in 1971. A similar incident occurred with the ashes of another writer Naoya Shiga in 1980. More recently, in 2002, an episode occurred when the ashes of the wife of the famous baseball player Sadaharu Ou were stolen and the kidnappers demanded a ransom for its return.

Rituals after the funeral

The funeral takes place on the seventh day after death. They involve the family of the deceased, other relatives and everyone who was close to the deceased. During the service, the priest reads the sutras aloud. The service is repeated on the fourteenth, twenty-first, twenty-eighth and thirty-fifth days. Such a service takes place only in the family circle. 49 days after death, repeated funerals take place; it is believed that on this day the soul of the deceased leaves our world. Condolences cease on the 49th day and a large Buddhist memorial ceremony is held involving family, close relatives and friends. On this day, it is customary to place an urn containing ashes in the grave. Due to the presence of unburnt bones, ashes are rarely scattered in Japan.

Mourning (Fuku mou)

Mourning lasts a year, during which time family members of the deceased abstain from entertainment activities, do not attend movies and concerts, do not go to church and do not send New Year cards nengajo. Instead of postcards, notifications are sent with an apology that postcards will not be sent out; if you receive such a notification, you need to save it (more on this below). Also, women cannot register a marriage during a period of mourning; in the past, this rule was introduced to avoid doubts about the paternity of children and somehow took root and became stronger in the laws.

Memorial services on death anniversaries (Nenki hyou)

Memorial services are held on the first, second, sixth, twelfth, sixteenth, twenty-second, twenty-sixth and thirty-second anniversaries of death. In some cases, commemorations are also celebrated on the forty-ninth anniversary. If more than two services need to be served in one year for one family, they are combined. It is assumed that on the last anniversary the soul of the deceased loses its individuality and dissolves in the afterlife, so no further commemoration is held.

Festival of the Dead (Obon)

Obon Holiday

According to Japanese beliefs, during this holiday the souls of the deceased return to their homes. Obon usually takes place on August 13-16. These days, the Japanese visit their home and visit the graves of relatives and friends, even if they have lived separately from their parents for many years. On the eve of the holiday, the Japanese tidy up family altars and graves. Vegetables, fruits and other favorite dishes of the deceased and other ancestors are prepared. On the evening of the first day of the holiday, small paper lanterns are lit in front of the gate or entrance to the house, welcoming the return of the departed soul. The fires are lit again on the last day to hasten the return of souls to their new world In some prefectures, lanterns are floated down the river on the last day of Obon. In Hiroshima, on the last day of Oobon, rivers turn into flames from the fire of hundreds of thousands of floating lanterns. Airfare prices skyrocket during Obon period, so it's worth keeping this in mind if you're visiting Japan in August.

Japanese funerals and foreigners

Funerals are mostly a family affair and foreigners rarely take part in this sad event; usually this happens if one of the relatives in a mixed marriage dies. Occasionally, a foreigner may be invited to say goodbye to a friend or colleague.

If you most likely will not be able to attend a Japanese funeral, you can make other mistakes in everyday life, indirectly related to the funeral. For example, when presenting gift money. All money in Japan is handed over in special noshibukuro envelopes, which are different types: for gifts for birthdays, weddings, etc., including funerals. The envelope for presenting money at a funeral is beautiful, white with silver and black ribbons. To avoid mistakes, look for a red diamond in the upper right corner of the envelope; such envelopes are given only for celebrations, but its absence will indicate an envelope for presenting money for a funeral. Dried squid was originally a rare and expensive delicacy in Japan, and a strip of squid was included in the holiday envelope. You can still find real dried squid on a gift envelope today.

If you decide to send New Year's cards to nengajo, pay attention to whether anyone in your circle has sent a notice of the death of someone in the family. Even if this is some distant relative of your friend whom you have never heard of before, you cannot send nengajo, it will look as if you are mocking someone else's grief by wishing a happy new year during a period of mourning.

You should not give it to the Japanese woman you like; white chrysanthemums are traditional funeral flowers. However, in Russia, many people associate the chrysanthemum as a grave flower.

Cemeteries for foreigners

In the past, it was forbidden to bury foreigners in Japanese cemeteries (they did not particularly strive because of the Christian faith), but there were separate burial places for them. Some exist to this day, for example, one of the most famous in Yokohama (Boris Akunin also wrote about it in his collection “Cemetery Stories”), one of the few Orthodox Christian cemeteries is located on the outskirts of Hakodate city. There are cemeteries and other concessions, but there are very few of them, so the Japanese Muslim community is very concerned about the insufficient number of cemeteries where funerals according to Muslim rites are available (i.e. without cremation); Jews living in Japan experience similar problems.

Film about Japanese funeral rites

Gone

If the topic of Japanese ritual rites interests you, I recommend watching the film Okuribito (Departed). In addition to the actual theme of funerals, the film raises the problem of low social status funeral workers in Japanese society whose work is considered dirty. The film is available in Russian distribution on DVD, and at one time received an Academy Award for best film in a foreign language.

Many thanks for the text and all possible help in difficult moment to the author

A Japanese funeral is one of those things that reveals Japanese culture and shows what a Man is in the Japanese mind. Today we will touch on this not entirely positive topic. From the article you will learn how and what rituals are performed at funerals in Japan, how the wake and the funeral itself take place.

Most often you can hear that funeral rituals combine Shinto and Buddhist traditions. In Shintoism, the national religion of Japan, one can find many rituals, including funeral rites, which appeared in the process of the development of complex cultural history Japanese archipelago, for example: preparing a funeral for the eldest son or eldest man in the family or washing the body of the deceased. Buddhist funeral rites “came” to Japan from outside, and their meaning was to help the deceased go to afterlife, and his soul will be reborn if it does not break out of the cycle of life and death.

The strongest push for the merging of religions occurred in 1638, when the Japanese were required to officially accept Buddhism at the temple.

The irony is that this was done in order to eradicate Christianity, and not to ban Shintoism. At that time, the law required the installation of Buddhist altars in Japanese homes, so many families had to move Shinto altars to other rooms.

Nowadays, almost all Japanese families hire a Buddhist priest to perform funeral rituals. However, families and friends conduct them in accordance with Shinto traditions.

Japanese funeral traditions

When a person dies, his body should, if possible, spend its last night at home in the futon in which the deceased previously slept. Ice is placed around him and his face is covered with a white cloth. Families, including children of all ages, and friends should immediately offer their condolences. Often people sit next to the body of the deceased, touch it and talk to it as if it were still alive.

In the morning, a slow procession carries the body to the place where the funeral will take place. Depending on the family's capabilities, this may be a temple or a more secular place.

Upon arrival, the body is dressed and placed in a coffin, which can be simple or beautifully decorated. There is a small window on the lid of the coffin above the face of the deceased. The coffin is then taken to a special place with candles, statues and flowers. The portrait of the deceased is placed among candles and incense, which should burn next to the coffin all the time.

Japanese funeral

The wake begins, which in Japan is held before the funeral itself. Guests bring money in a special funeral envelope tied with black and white rope. The amount of money is determined by how close the person was to the deceased.

The priest then sits in front of the coffin and begins to recite the sutra. At this time, family members of the deceased take turns approaching the coffin to pay respect to the deceased.

Typically, everyone present should take granulated incense, hold it to their forehead and throw it into the burner, then pray and bow to the portrait of the deceased, and then to his family.

After everyone has completed this ritual and the priest has finished reading the sutra, the guests leave, and the family and close relatives remain in the next room. The night vigil begins. It usually consists of long informal conversations, a light meal, including beer or sake, and a night's rest.

Funeral

The next morning the family returns to the deceased, and the whole procedure is repeated again. Since this is a funeral itself, clothing should be appropriate: a black suit with a tie and a white shirt for men, and a black dress or kimono for women.

It is believed that a funeral ends when family, relatives and friends have said goodbye to the deceased. The coffin is opened and flowers are given to guests and family to place with the deceased. In some traditions, it is at this time that the coffin lid is nailed down. Then everyone goes to the crematorium, where the coffin must be taken. If desired, the family can light incense there too. The furnace can be lit by the deceased's closest relative or crematorium workers. While the fire burns, relatives go to the funeral banquet.

Cremation

After everyone has eaten, the relatives gather in another room, where the crematorium staff brings the still hot stove with the remaining bones inside. Usually workers also explain where each bone is, what disease the deceased might have suffered from, and how the use of medications affected the bones.

Each person present uses special sticks (one bamboo, the other willow, which symbolizes the bridge between two worlds) to hand over the bones of the deceased to place them in the urn. This is the only case where two people touch the same object with chopsticks. In other cases, it will remind others of the funeral custom and be considered disrespectful.

Mothers can ask their children to pick up and pass the head bones, which are believed to help develop mental abilities. Someone may take certain bones to help them cope with an illness or injury.

Buddhist memorial traditions

The collected bones are returned to the house and placed on the Buddhist altar, to be buried in the family cemetery after some time. A portrait of the deceased is placed nearby.

Buddhism involves a series of memorial ceremonies after death. They are the same as during a funeral (burning incense, reading sutras by a priest, prayers), but less formal. They are usually held at the home of the deceased's family.

Strict Buddhist traditions require such ceremonies to be held every seven days after death until the 49th day. Often, when relatives are unable to come or take time off from work, 2-3 such ceremonies are held before the 49th day. This is how the veneration of ancestors begins. From this point on, according to Buddhism, another ceremony should be on the hundredth day and then every year until the fiftieth anniversary.