Research Catalog

The price of death : the funeral industry in contemporary Japan / Hikaru Suzuki.

Title
The price of death : the funeral industry in contemporary Japan / Hikaru Suzuki.
Author
Suzuki, Hikaru
Publication
Stanford, Calif. : Stanford University Press, c2000.

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Book/TextRequest in advance J.C. Su 98 pOff-site

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Description
ix, 266 p., [8] p. of plates : ill.; 23 cm.
Summary
  • "Funerary practices have long been a classic topic of anthropological inquiry, which has tended to focus on death rituals as expressions and reinforcers of community ties and values. In this book, the author looks at funerals as an urban business, based on her fieldwork at a large Japanese funeral company. Her central theme is the progressive commercialization of what once were primarily religious rituals."
  • "The book depicts the process of contemporary Japanese funerals, the practices of those who provide commercial funeral services, and the motivations and behavior of the mourners who purchase those services. In so doing, it examines the role of funeral companies in shaping Japanese cultural practices and in changing an important aspect of Japanese society."--Jacket.
Subject
  • Honʼyaku iin shachū Japan
  • Undertakers and undertaking > Japan
  • Funeral rites and ceremonies > Japan
Bibliography (note)
  • Includes bibliographical references (p. 239-255) and index.
Processing Action (note)
  • committed to retain
Contents
Introduction: Commercial Funerals for Contemporary Japanese -- Death Rituals in Anthropology and Japanese Folklore Studies -- The History of Japanese Funeral Traditions -- The Phase of Negated Death -- The Funeral Ceremony: Rites of Passage -- Funeral Professionals at Moon Rise -- Funeral Professionals Outside of Moon Rise -- The Commoditization of the Bathing Ceremony -- Conclusion: The Shift to Commercialization and Mass Consumption.
ISBN
0804735611 (alk. paper)
LCCN
^^^00058336^
OCLC
  • 44594078
  • SCSB-10190553
Owning Institutions
Harvard Library