Urbanization and Changing Funerals in Japan

概要

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In recent years, the 'death problem' has become a big topic of discussion in Japan. In the past, Japanese people did not like to talk about such an ominous matter as death. However, issues surrounding death, such as euthanasia, brain death, terminal care, and thanatology, are now often taken up as main subjects on TV, in newspapers, and in magazines. Lectures and seminars on such topics are also actively held. In these context, the Japanese traditional forms of funerals have begun to be reconsidered. These days, Japanese people are trying to find new ways of handling funerals, from the service to the burial. Various patterns of funerals are proposed and even fashion shows of burial garments and exhibitions of urns are held. 'SOGI (funeral)' is a bimonthly magazine for funeral services which published its first issue in 1991. It introduces various types of funerals with many photographs. Such reconsiderations of traditional funerals and the attempts to create new types of funerals are caused by various factors. One of the main factors is the process of urbanization in Japanese society. Changes in social structure, social community and way of life caused by urbanization have tremendously influenced Japanese traditional forms of funeral. Today, I would like to examine 'urbanization and changing funerals in Japan'.
創価大学の論文