The necrogeography of pet memorial spaces: pets as liminal family members in contemporary Japan
This article investigates how pets are included or excluded in the human necral landscapes of contemporary Japan. Their placement in mortuary spaces reflects the pets' paradoxical position as hybrids between humans and other nonhuman animals. Since the beginning of the pet boom in the 1990s, a...
| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
[2010]
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| In: |
Material religion
Year: 2010, Volume: 6, Issue: 3, Pages: 304-335 |
| Further subjects: | B
Liminality
B memorial tablet (ihai) B joint-species burial B necrogreography B pet memorial rites (petto kuyo) B pet cemetery (petto reien) B Cremation |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (Resolving-System) |
| Summary: | This article investigates how pets are included or excluded in the human necral landscapes of contemporary Japan. Their placement in mortuary spaces reflects the pets' paradoxical position as hybrids between humans and other nonhuman animals. Since the beginning of the pet boom in the 1990s, a growing number of Japanese pet owners consider their beloved pets family members during their lifetime and feel that they should hence be treated in death like a human. Paralleling changes in human mortuary practices in the modern period, many changes have occurred in mortuary practices involving pets: pets are buried and memorialized with Buddhist rituals, cremation has become the preferred method of disposal for pet bodies, funeral options have become more individualized, pet cemeteries are ubiquitous in the urban landscape, and joint humanpet burials are gaining currency. The inquiry focuses on two examples: the memorialization of pets in the home and the interment of pet cremains in cemeteries. Despite a greater sense of inclusion, contemporary mortuary practices place pets in a liminal position between animals and humans, indicating their status as marginal, temporary family members. |
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| ISSN: | 1751-8342 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Material religion
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.2752/175183410X12862096296801 |