Research Catalog

Title

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

Author

Suzuki, Hikaru

Publication

Stanford, Calif. : Stanford University Press, c2000.

Items in the Library & Off-site

Holdings

Details

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