1. Japanese Death Rituals Melanie Teusch & Sarah Kline

2. Washing of the Body  Body is washed at the hospital  Stuffed with gauze or cotton  Man: Dressed in suit  Women: Dressed in kimono

3. Arrangements Choose type of casket Choose food for the funeral Fruits and flowers are placed

4. Preparing the Body Body is put on dry ice in the mortuary Body is placed in a casket along with paper money and a white headband with a triangle in the center Burnable things that the person was fond of are added as well such as cigarettes and candy More dry ice is added before placing the casket by the alter

6. Condolences People sign in in a registry book and give condolence money to the family Incense is burnt in front of the table facing the casket The visitor extends his condolences to the family then goes to the next room for food and drinks

7. Wake Service and The Wake Buddhist priest comes and speaks briefly with the family After everyone is there he turns to the alter, bows, lights incense, and begins to read a sutra During the sutra reading, the priest gives a signal and the members of the family, who are seated in hierarchical order, rise and go to the incense urn, bow, offer incense, bow again and return to their seats

8. Continued… The visitors repeat the ritual until everyone is finished Even after the wake service has ended, visitors will continue to arrive to pay their respects A small present is given to each visitor as he or she leaves as an expression of thanks from the family The family stays up with the deceased in the same room for the night

9. Funeral The funeral is usually held on the day after the wake service The body is transferred to a temple and placed before the altar in front of the temple altar Almost all of the visitors have rosaries, which they drape over their hands People place a pinch of incense on the smoldering incense in the urn after bringing it close to the forehead Telegrams from friends and companies are then read by an emcee from the mortuary After the final viewing the casket is sealed Everyone stands at attention and the pallbearers carry the casket to the hearse

10. The Crematorium The casket is unloaded from the hearse at the crematorium and placed on a sliding tray connected to the oven An attendant tells the family what time to return to get the remains After the body is burned the family members are given a set of chopsticks to pick up the bones to put into the urn

11. Continued… The most important is the Adam’s apple Two family member help pick up the bones together with chopsticks and this is the only time that it’s considered proper to hold anything with chopsticks at the same time by two people When the urn has been filled, it is covered and wrapped in a white cloth The urn may be taken home and kept there until after the 49th day memorial service In other areas the urn may be taken directly to the cemetery There are large differences in ornaments, floral arrangements and the processions themselves that are dependent on local customs

12. After Cremation  There are memorial services as well as prescribed times for gravesite visitation that vary with the Buddhist sect and local customs  Some areas have a service every day for the first 7 days, others have them at varying frequency up until the 49th day service

13. The Grave The date of the erection of the grave and the name of the person who purchased it may be engraved on the side of the monument The names of the deceased are often but not always engraved on the front of the monument When a married person dies before his or her spouse, the name of the spouse may also be engraved on the stone, with the letters painted red After the death and the burial of the spouse the red ink is removed from the stone

14. History Jisei is a custom of the ancient literate Chinese and Japanese to write a poem when death was imminent Zen monks often wrote the poems The poems were typically written in waka or haiku format Death was never mentioned explicitly but it was symbolically such as a sunset or falling cherry blossoms

15. A small night storm blows Saying ‘falling is the essence of a flower’ Preceding those who hesitate

16. Sources http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_ funeral http://tanutech.com/japan/jfunerals.ht ml