This book, based on extensive original research, explores the various ways in which Japanese people think about death and how they approach the process of dying and death. It shows how new forms of funeral ceremonies have been developed by the funeral industry, how traditional grave burial is being replaced in some cases by the scattering of ashes and forest mortuary ritual, and how Japanese thinking on relationships, the value of life, and the afterlife are changing. Throughout, it assesses how these changes reflect changing social structures and social values.

Introduction: Making One's Death, Dying and Disposal in Contemporary Japan Part 1: Meaning of Life and Dying in Contemporary Japan 1. Death and 'The Pursuit of a Life Worth Living' in Japan 2. Dying in Japan: In to the Hospital and Out Again? 3. Sarariiman Suicides in Heisei Japan Part 2: Professionalization of Funerals 4. Working of Funeral Homes: Between Dignity of Death and Commercialism in Work for the Dead 5. Funeral-While-Alive as Experiential Transcendence 6. Contemporary Transformation of Japanese Death Ceremonies Part 3: New Burial Practices in Japan 7. Beyond Ancestor Worship: Continued Relationship with Significant Others 8. Life Course and New Death Rites in Japan: The Loss of Comrades in the Second World War and the Choice of Ash Scattering 9. An Anthropological Study of a Japanese Tree Burial: Environment, Kinship and Death 10. Disaster and Death in Japan: Responses to the Flight JL123 Crash Epilogue