Historical Studies on Variations of Japanese Funeral Contents(Ages,Occupations,Holding Places,Funeral Forms),from Newspaper Obituaries

摘要

The purpose of this paper is to historically clarify the variations of Japanese funeral services, holding places, funeral forms,etc. The obituary columns of the Japanese major newspaper: The Asahi Shimbun were collected from 1913 to 2008 for every 10 years. From 100 obituary notices, a funeral form was analyzed every year of personal age, occupation, the funeral place, and funeral starting time.As a result of the research, following points were made clear. 1) By the occupation of the dead, “financial/business world” increased to 49% in 2008, and “academic world” and “literature and artistic world” decreased.The funeral place and the funeral starting time showed a considerable change, and the ratio it became at the funeral hall rose to 44% in 2008. In the funeral place, not only Buddhist temple and the funeral hall,but also the things performed in a hotel or a banquet institution increased. The services were performed in the afternoon until 1980's,but, as for the funeral time in Tokyo, recently 70% changed to the morning. 2) After 2003,the informal funerals not conducting “formal services” have increased rapidly, and funeral services to only show a family “parting” were on the increase.