Japanese style funeral and Japanese funeral manners

Japanese style funeral vigil stemmed from ancient funeral ceremony called “Mogari”

Mogari”殯” is Japanese ancient funeral ceremony that makes people truly realize “the death” through some ceremonial stages, which is like laying the body into a coffin for the time being until holding a formal funeral to have a feeling of awe and respect to the dead and to calm the people’s mind of being reluctant to part from the dead, and burying the dead as a formal funeral to make people realize the dead’s physical change phenomenon like skeletonization and putrefaction.

Japanese vigil is called “Tsuya(通夜)” , which is observed as the eve of a formal funeral. Tsuya is also given a mission to protect sacred place and the dead from evil sprit. So people originally need to watch over the dead without sleeping or with alternative shift in order to nurse a fire of sacred light and incense stick as part of amulet until dawn.

Nowadays, there is an instruction from a fire department not to make a fire at a ceremonial site. So Tsuya these days is way superficial ceremony that just traces the outstanding features of it and Tsuya is generally held for half a day especially in urban area.

General Process of Japanese Funeral

In our time, most of people wait for their last moment at hospital and 94% of funeral ceremony in Japan is held with Buddhist rites. I am going to introduce the most general case of funeral process in Japan

• Deathbed at hospital
• Carry the body to a mortuary
• Place the body in coffin
• Tsuya
• Formal funeral
• Cremate and pick up dead ashes
• KankotsuHoyo “還骨法要” (holding a memorial service for the dead to place remains in a house )
• Burying remains

Deathbed at hospital

Easy Farewell Ceremony at Hospital

After doctor’s announcement of death at a hospital, farewell ceremony called “MakkinoMizu (末期)” is held to say good bye to the dead.

“Makki(末期の水)” means “last moment” and “Mizu(水)” means water. MakkinoMizu literally means “Last moment water”.
This is very important ceremony for Japanese Buddhism to see off the dead spirit heading to the heaven.

Everyone witness to the death put a napkin into water in a bowl and wipe lips of the dead with wet napkin one by one. This is how this ceremony is held in a hospital

Dead Care

In this step, there are 3 things to do for the dead, which is washing, dressing and putting makeup on the dead for burial before setting on a journey to the Heaven.

Originally, survivors take charge of looking after this preparation for the dead with assistance of a funeral director but in case of death bed in hospital, a nurse will take care of this. This is called angel care service.

Of cause, this service is sold by a hospital, which costs you around 10,000 to 50,000 yen. This is out of application range of insurance.

Washing a dead “湯灌”

A ceremony of wishing a dead prior to placing in coffin is called “Yukan(湯灌)” in Japanese. A dead needs to cleanse its spirit before going upward.

Dressing a dead “見繕い”

Originally, changing black and white Kimono for a dead is traditional way but some people use a kimono which the deceased loved to wear in his/her lifetime for dead dressing. Dead dressing is called “Mitsukuroi(見繕い)”

Making up a dead “死化粧”

Set the dead’s hair and shave beard and downy hair. If face is worn out because of a struggle against a disease,
achieve images of healthy face in his/her lifetime by wadding a dead’s mouth and nose with cotton to look more plump. This is called “Shinigesho (死化粧)”

Carry a body to mortuary

In case of deathbed in hospital, a dead needs to be carried home or to a mortuary as soon as possible because mortary in hospital is not a facility to preserve a dead for long time but preserving 3 hours is limited. For that reason, survivors rush to make a plan to do all the necessary things to prepare for prior to carrying a dead . They don’t have time to cry out in front of a dead.

First thing first, settle payment to hospital and receive death certificate from a doctor because it is regulated by a law that if you take a dead out of a hospital, you need to take a certificate with it.

Then, you decide where you can place a dead temporarily until funeral ceremony. In country side, people generally take a dead back home but if you are worried about the condition of a body, funeral hall will look after a body in mortuary until a ceremony.

Place a body in coffin

A body needs to be laid out with simple alter called “Makurakazari (枕飾り)” until Tsuya ceremony. Meanwhile, call a priest of “Bodaiji(菩提寺)” for sutra recitation. After praying for repose of a soul with priest, a body is put into coffin.

“Bodaiji(菩提寺)” is a temple that, for example, your family keep believing in generation after generation and that looks after ancestral mortuary tablet.

Tsuya

Tsuya(通夜) is a ceremony to originally recall the dead and take your farewell to the dead and protect coffin and nurse fire on incense stick and look after the dead without sleeping with survivor’s family until formal funeral ceremony. In short, funeral ceremony is in public and Tsuya is in private.

However, it is mainstream nowadays that survivors invite general condolence callers to Tuya and hold a memorial service for about an hour and treat them for dinner. This is called Hantsuya “半通夜”, which literally means half Tsuya.

Because funeral ceremony is mostly held in the daytime, condolence callers who can’t attend funeral ceremony because of their jobs tend to join in Han-Tsuya.

Funeral ceremony

Ceremony style is different depending on the religion the survivor family believe in. In Japan, diversity towards funeral ceremony is accepted little by little among commoners so Christian style, muslim style, shinto style and other religion are widely accepted for the present funeral situation.

However, 94 % of ceremony in Japan is still held with Buddhist rites, which means even if survivors believe in Christian, they use formally Buddha priest to realize Japanese funeral tradition regardless of believing religion.

Buddha style funeral is commonly spread around Japan; nevertheless there are so many denominations that have different rites and manners for a funeral ceremony individually. And there is also a case that the meaning of rites is opposite in some cases depending on the denomination even though these names are the same each other.

Cremate and pick up dead ashes

A dead is burnt in a funeral hall that lays out a dead in a mortuary room. It takes around 1 to 2 hours until a dead is cremated perfectly. Survivors’ family is hospitable to people attending cremation at a waiting room like arranging food for people.

Even during cremation, people need to pray at alter frequently and to nurse fire of incense stick not to go out until cremation is done.

Pick up dead ashes

After cremation is done, a staff comes to lead people to a cinerary room. In a cinerary room, everyone surrounds the stand on which there is a dead ashes.

A person who represents the funeral stands close to a part of head of the dead with a cinerary urn. Others hold cinerary chopsticks which has different length and material each other. One side of chopsticks is made of wood and other side is made of bamboo.

As following instruction by a staff, people pick up dead ashes from a leg part and put it in a urn that a representative hold.

One thing you have to pay attention is that you must not put dead ashes that you pick up directly to an urn but you have to pass dead ashes to others by your chopsticks and a person who receive dead ashes pass it to other person again, which is kind of bucket-brigade. Everyone needs to give a chance to catch dead ashes and to have the feeling of last parting from a dead.

Cremation permission

A person who represents funeral need to apply for cremation permission to municipality where there is a funeral hall and submit a issued cremation certificate to a funeral hall beforehand.

Cremation permission certificate can be issued after you submit obituary notice to a municipal office.

After cremation, a seal that indicate cremation is done is stamped on a certificate by a funeral hall and dead ashes is returned back to you.

Kankotsuhoyo “還骨法要”

After collecting dead ash into a cinerary urn, everyone goes back to a funeral hall or temple and decreased portrait, mortuary tablet need to be set on the alter. Then, a priest hold a memorial service for the dead. This is called “Kankotsuhoyo(還骨法要)”

“Kankotsu(還骨)” means “back from cremation as dead ash” and “houyo(法要)” means “memorial serivce”.

Shonanokahoyo “初七日法要”

After 7 days of Kankotsuhoyo “還骨法要”, memorial service need to be held again. This is very important ceremony but to reduce burden of survivors’ family and condolence callers, it is common to hold it with formal funeral.

Otogi(御斎)

Otogi is a banquet for a priest and other staffs who look after the funeral. Simply it is a dinner party to shown an intention of gratitude for those who work hard for the funeral.

Originally, Otogi is held 49days after the funeral but considering people coming all the way from a distance place and spare a day for the funeral, it is common to hold this party after the funeral.

What you need to do after the funeral

Until laying ashes to rest, you pray for the repose of the soul towards alter on which deceased portrait and mortary tablet are placed.

Funeral Manners

Strict speaking, condolatory call and funeral attendance are different. A dress code, things you should prepare for and manners are different between condolatory call and funeral attendance. I am going to introduce manners and clothing and things you need to join funeral.

What kind of outfit do I have to wear when I need to hasten to a Tsuya after hearing death news?

Hearing sudden death news, there are so many cases that people visit Tsuya on their way back home from an office. In this case, you don’t have to wear funeral outfit but your ordinary outfit for expressing condolence. However, wearing black suit, tie and socks is preferred if you can spare time to change.

In case you join funeral ceremony, in general, you need to wear mourning. Males need to have black suit, black tie, a white shirt and black leather shoes. A tie clip is not commonly attached on your tie but cufflinks are accepted.
Females need to have black or dark colored suit or one-piece, black shoes and black or fresh colored stockings. Accessary you can put on should not be showy enough to shine by a reflected light.

How to do “Shoko(焼香)”?

“Shoko(焼香)” is one of the rites of funeral that burns incense for the repose of a departed soul. There are two types of Shoko in Japanese funeral.

One is that you pick up some powered incense with your thumb, forefinger and middle finger of your right hand to your forehead and stop several seconds to pray for the repose of a soul as you close your eyes and put it on incense burner. You repeat this action 3 times generally.

The other one is stick type Shoko which you put fire on stick incense from a candle fire and put out fire from incense by hand and emit smoke on top of it and stabilize incense on sand blanketed in a container.

Point of view to “Shoko” differs depending on the Buddha denomination

For example, Jodo-shin sect “浄土真宗” have its unique point of view that Shoko is only what a prayer cleanse his/her body and mind so it doesn’t instruct like picking up incense to forehead like other denominations do

Commonly, well-known manners of Shoko tell us to repeat the same action 3 times, which comes originally from Nichiren sect “日蓮宗”, Shingon sect “真言宗” but Rinzai sect “臨済宗” and Tendai sect “天台宗” have no strict rules on Shoko.

Japanese people tend to think Shoko is unique culture brought by Buddhism but Christianity has also incense offering as one of funeral rites. Catholic and Ruttel has custom to do incense offering.

Manners of powered type Shoko

• Make a bow to survivors’ family and priest sitting right next to the alter and make a bow again in front of the alter
• Hang rosary on your left wrist and pick up incense with your right hand to your forehead. Then, you close your eyes and pray for the repose of a soul
• Put incense on live coal into a incense burner
• Join your hands together in front of your chest
• Make a bow again to survivors family and priest
• Go back to your seat

Manners of stick type Shoko

• Make a bow to survivors’ family and priest sitting right next to the alter and make a bow again in front of the alter
• Hang rosary on your left wrist and put fire on incense stick by a candle fire and emit smoke. Put out fire from incense stick.
• Stabilize incense stick on sand, and make a bow to survivors’ family and priest again and go back to your seat

In case you can’t attend funeral by all means

First thing first, make a condolatory call and ask someone for substitute to have him/her attend funeral ceremony with your name card, or send condolatory letter and money as a registered letter later.

Funeral representative family should be really busy with preparation for funeral ceremony so you should avoid making a condolatory call as much as possible.

When you send condolatory letter, you must not write the deceased’s name as an address holder on a letter but you should write the name of funeral representative. Condolatory money must be put into a special funeral envelop called “koden-bukuro(香典袋)”.

If you want to visit to pray later, you should visit until 49 days before which mortuary tablet is still laid out on the alter of funeral representative house. After 49 days, mortuary tablet is buried to the grave in a temple.

Relation between “Rokuyo(六曜)” and “funeral”

Generally, funeral avoid the day applied to Tomobiki “友引”. This is because of considering superstition that holding funeral ceremony on the day attract the dead to come to this world again and your the dead will travel someone to the heaven or hell.

However, there is no relation between Buddhism and Rokuyo and originally, Tomobiki indicates the day every gaming, competition or contest are drawn. Because so many people have strong negative impression towards Tomobiki, most of funeral hall close on the day applied to Tomobiki.

–Rokuyo “六曜” – Japanese calendar has fortune-telling information