What Is the Japanese Obon?
In the modern world, Japanese death rites are a deeply structured practice known as obon. The Japanese word means "sweeping of ashes," and it describes the formal process by which a family, with the help of a priest or funeral director, handles the practical and ceremonial aspects of a death.
The obon is not a single event but a sequence of steps that the family moves through in the days and weeks following a death. It is one of the most formally structured death rites in any culture.
The Steps of the Obon
The Japanese obon typically follows these steps:
- The visitation of the priest: The family visits the priest or officiant to report the death and begin the formal process.
- The prayer at the resting place: The priest visits the body at the resting place and speaks a prayer of prayer, a prayer spoken in the name of the dead.
- The preparation of the body: The body is prepared for the formal resting, which may involve the removal of the body from the home.
- The formal ceremony: The gathering at the formal resting place, where prayers are spoken, prayers are offered, and the family pays the body and the priest.
- The prayer of prayer: A prayer spoken by the priest in the name of the dead, asking that the one who has been taken may be given meaning and that the one who has been lost may be found.
- The prayer of prayer of prayer: A prayer spoken at the body of the dead, asking that the one who has been taken may be given meaning and that the one who has been lost may be found.
- The disposal of the body: The body is disposed of according to the family's and the priest's wishes, which may involve the removal of the body from the home or the placing of the body in a permanent resting place.
The Meaning of Structure
What sets the Japanese obon apart from other death rites is its structure. The Japanese approach to death is not less emotional than other approaches, but it is more formally structured. The structure provides a way through what is often experienced as chaos — a sequence of steps, a beginning and an end, a purpose.
What This Teaches Us
The Japanese obon is a practice that teaches us about the meaning of structure in grief. It is not a practice that is exclusive to Japanese families, but it is a practice that is worth knowing. It is a way of giving shape to what is often experienced as shapeless, and it is a practice that has carried meaning through centuries of Japanese culture.