ABSTRACT
Death is common to all but the forms of funerals and the meanings attached to them have changed over time. There are many variations in Japanese funerals but the majority of them are still conducted according to Buddhist rites, which will be the focus of the following description, although some people have Shinto, Christian or 'non-religious' ceremonies. Death is the only time when most people pay any attention at all to this date on the calendar, but I have heard of families who have preserved a corpse in dry ice for an extra day or two in order to avoid a tomobiki. Cremation is now the norm for 99 per cent of the population but there is an increasing variety in the manner of disposal of the ashes. Migration, rural depopulation in some areas and the ageing of the Japanese population have affected some of the institutions connected with funerals.
