Grave Changes: Scattering Ashes in Contemporary Japan
This article examines the formation and growth of the Grave-Free Promotion Society (GFPS), a civic group formed in 1990o to promote the scattering of human ashes in Japan. Changing family structures and a critical lack of sufficient burial space have led to a "grave revolution" since the e...
| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Nanzan Institute
[2003]
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| In: |
Japanese journal of religious studies
Year: 2003, Volume: 30, Issue: 1/2, Pages: 85-118 |
| Further subjects: | B
Graves
B Buddhism B Memorials B Oceans B Religious Studies B Priests B Funerals B Temples |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (kostenfrei) |
| Summary: | This article examines the formation and growth of the Grave-Free Promotion Society (GFPS), a civic group formed in 1990o to promote the scattering of human ashes in Japan. Changing family structures and a critical lack of sufficient burial space have led to a "grave revolution" since the end of the 1980s. Scattering sits at the intersection of legal battles over the ambiguous status of cremated remains, historical debates over what constitutes "traditional" funerary practices, Buddhist arguments for the necessity of posthumous ordination and memorial rites, as well as social and medical concerns over locating the dead. The "natural funerals," or shizensō, performed by the GFPS do not require a Buddhist funeral, memorial rites, posthumous name, or grave, and thus present a highly visible challenge to over 300 years of Buddhist mortuary practices and family-centered, patrilineal graves. |
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| Contains: | Enthalten in: Japanese journal of religious studies
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