Funeral Home

Every society handles death in a different way, and the different way societies perceive death and handle loss is different. Specifically understanding the way the Japanese people approach death, and the role of funeral homes, can we perhaps gain a broader understanding of this strange intersection of death and industry as noted by Daisuke Tanaka in Working of Funeral Homes. Much like in many modernized countries, the Japanese have noticed increased demand for the need of funeral home services. This is increasingly true, as we discussed in class, because many older individuals are dying alone. They can go sometimes weeks or even months before being discovered. Because of this, a specialized industry has been created. This industry is devoted entirely to caring for the bodies of both those who die alone and those whose family want to give their loved ones a proper goodbye.

While the job is certainly not glamorous, it a necessity in society and brings great comfort to the families. The work is not easy or pretty, but we do find out that is strangely fulfilling. The other part that I found incredibly interesting is that the encoffining process takes place directly in front of the family. While in the United States bodies are often preserved and prepared for the funeral rites in private, the encoffiner performs a complex ritual of washing and clothing the body, and applying makeup directly in front of the family. Because of this the job that the encoffiner performs can be highly scrutinized, as happens to the lead character in departures during one job. Once completed, the encoffiner places the body in the coffin, which is then taken to the religious service before being cremated. In Japan, nearly 100% of individuals are cremated after