Japanese Funerals

Japanese funerals are sadly a part of life in Japan. Death comes to us all as they say and I will spare you Benjamin Franklin's quote on the subject. In Japan, Buddhism takes care of the deceased and their families.

In Japan, it is often said that you are born a Shinto and die a Buddhist. There are various ceremonies in life involving Shintoism; the 7-5-3 ceremonies, first visit to the shrine by the baby, weddings etc. The Kami care for the living and the Buddhas for the dead. 

Shintoism has a disdain of death and there is no real theology on what happens after we die. This explain why Buddhism could take root in Japan, right next to the native religion. Buddhism filled the gap and deals with death and its rituals in 85% of cases.

Being from Canada, I recently read in the news that Canadians are increasingly cynicals about politicians, they think they are corrupt and do not care for anything else than Big-Business and their friends. In Japan, the same sentiment goes for Buddhist priests.

It comes from the incredible cost of funerals and all the differents anniversaries through the years that require the services of a priest. They really have a niche market captive and they milk it at the expense of the grieving people.

First let's examine what are Japanese funerals and then we will talk about the business of funerals.

Some statistics: in 2005 80% of people died in hospitals in Japan, a 30% jump in 30 years. conscequently, the persentage of funerals held in ceremony halls also increased as the houses got smaller and more crowded, not being able to accomodate a large number of guests. In 2005 again, 84.5% of the funeral ceremonies in Japan were held in such a place.

The average cost of a funeral ceremony in Japan is now about 236,6 million Yen ($US26,000) including all the expenses like food, the priest and diverese rentals. As some observer said, it's about the same price as a medium sized car.

Let's examine 2 price plans taken from a major Japanese company in Tokyo and what they include. Please click on the pictures for a description of the item.

First the Cheap Plan at 250,000 Yen( $2,736)

What is included (from top to bottom, left to right)

Transport for the deceased (up to 10 Km
Dry ice (one day worth)
Death certificate

Compare with this plan at 2,200,000Yen ($24,000)

 

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