Cremation

Japanese: 火葬 - かそう

Cremation is a funeral method in which the corpse is disposed of by burning it. It is believed that behind cremation is the idea that by destroying the corpse with fire, the soul can leave the body as quickly as possible, and that this will give the soul an opportunity to find a new home and be reborn. There are many ethnic groups around the world who practice cremation. In Eurasia, cremation is centered in India, but it is widespread throughout East Asia and Southeast Asia, including Japan. In India, cremation has been practiced alongside burial and exposure to the elements since the Indus civilization, but its association with Buddhism was a major factor in its spread to neighboring regions such as Myanmar (Burma) and Cambodia, along with the custom of rites to worship the remains of the deceased, which are related to the worship of Buddha's relics. However, as one moves away from the central India, cremation is no longer practiced by the general public, and in Tibet, Indonesia, Melanesia, and other places, it is limited to privileged people such as chiefs, priests, and shamans.

In Europe, cremation was practiced in various places over a wide area from Brittany to southern Russia during the Neolithic period, and was particularly prevalent in the urn cemetery culture of the Late Bronze Age. However, during the Roman Imperial period, Christianity, which adopted burial and brought with it the ideas of purification and resurrection, spread throughout the empire, and Europe became a non-cremation zone. However, cremation was revived around the 19th century, when burials in church cemeteries reached their limits. Additionally, in the Americas, the custom of cremation can be found in North America, Central America, and northern South America. However, cremation is extremely rare among the peoples of the African continent.

[Jun Shimizu]

Cremation in Japan

In Japan, cremation has been known since the 6th century, but it is reasonable to say that the custom of cremation began in Japan along with Buddhist culture from the 8th century onwards. It can be said that the spread of Buddhism led to the introduction of cremation along with the construction of temples. Cremation was first introduced to the upper classes, and then spread to local nobles. From the 15th century onwards, cremation also became widespread as Buddhism spread to the common people. The common people would dig a hole in the open, place a large amount of firewood and straw on top of the coffin, light a fire and burn it for a long time. However, this was a difficult task for close relatives attending the cremation, and in many cases it was eventually left to professional samadhi (samadhi saints). In the early modern period, anti-cremation sentiment emerged among Confucian and Japanese scholars, who considered cremation a cruel and foreign custom, and cremation declined in some places, but it gradually increased, especially in urban areas and areas where Shinshu Buddhism had spread. In the Meiji period, as the policy of abolishing Buddhism and making Shinto the state religion was promoted, the Dajokan issued a decree on July 18, 1873 (Meiji 6) banning cremation. This ban was repealed two years later on May 23, 1875, but the Meiji government subsequently ordered that those who died of infectious diseases be cremated, and gradually crematoriums began to be established even in municipalities where burials were still practiced in rural areas. In the Taisho period, the national cremation rate in 1915 (Taisho 4) was 36.2%, but there were significant differences between prefectures. In modern times, cremation, which involves the procedure of burning the body, collecting the bones, and interring them, has spread and become widespread in areas of Shinshu Buddhism, and in urban and rural areas, concentrated in urban areas. The reasons for this include the fact that cremation reduces the sense of impurity of death, makes it easier to divide the bones, allows for smaller cemeteries, and the expansion of areas unsuitable for burial due to urbanization and housing development.

[Katsusuke Asaka]

In the case of burial, the disposal of the body is completed by burial, but in the case of cremation, the remains must be disposed of after the disposal of the body, resulting in a double procedure. This is similar to the custom of bone washing in the southern islands and the custom of reburial and re-worshipping the bones even in burials, and is important in tracing the lineage of funeral customs. Although cremation has a long history, it did not become explosively popular, and until recently burial was more common. As the population concentrated in cities and local governments banned burials by ordinance for hygiene reasons, cremation overwhelmed burials. In areas where Jodo Shinshu is popular, the shift to cremation was relatively early, and patients with infectious diseases were legally required to be cremated. Nowadays, there are many crematoriums with modern facilities, and bereaved families can collect the bones (bone collection) in one to two hours. City gas is often used for cremation in large cities, and kerosene in rural areas. In the past, heavy oil and coal were used, and before that, firewood and straw were used for cremation. The crematorium is set up away from settlements, with a small depression in the land and ditches on all four sides to allow air to circulate easily. The coffin is placed on top of the firewood brought by the funeral party, covered with straw or matting, and then set on fire. The person on duty continues cremating until the early hours of the morning. In the morning, the bereaved family go out and pick up the bones. Using wooden, bamboo, and chopsticks, one person picks up a bone and the other person receives it by passing it around. For this reason, it is taboo to use chopsticks or pass the bones around during everyday meals. There is a strong feeling of respect for the Adam's apple bone. It is also a custom associated with cremation to divide the bones and store them in a temple ossuary or other such place.

[Shoji Inoguchi]

"The Origin of Funeral Customs" by Obayashi Taryo (Chuko Bunko)

[Reference items] | Crematorium | Funeral system

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

Japanese:

死体を火で焼くことによって処理する葬法である。火葬の背景には、火で死体を破壊することによって霊魂が肉体からできるだけ早く離れていくことを可能にし、霊魂が新しいすみかを得て生まれ変わってくるきっかけをつくろうとする観念が存在していると考えられる。火葬を行う民族は世界中でも数多い。ユーラシア大陸ではインドを中心として、この系統を引く火葬が、日本も含めた東アジア、東南アジアの広い地域に分布している。インドではインダス文明以来土葬、風葬と並んで火葬が行われてきたが、これが仏教と結び付いたことが、仏舎利(ぶっしゃり)崇拝に関連した遺骨祀祭(しさい)の風習とともに、ミャンマー（ビルマ）、カンボジアなどの周辺地域に及んでいく一つの大きな動因になったのである。しかし、中心地インドから遠ざかるにつれて、火葬は一般民衆にまでは及ばなくなり、チベットやインドネシア、メラネシアなどでは、首長や祭司、シャーマンなどの特権的人物に限られてくる。

　ヨーロッパでは、新石器時代にはブルターニュから南ロシアにかけての広い地域の所々で火葬が行われ、とくに後期青銅器時代の骨壺(こつつぼ)墓地文化で盛んであったが、ローマ帝政期になると、遺体浄化と復活の思想を伴い、土葬を採用したキリスト教が帝国内に広まったため、ヨーロッパは非火葬地帯となった。しかし、教会墓地への埋葬が限界に達した19世紀ごろからふたたび火葬が復活してきた。このほか、アメリカ大陸では、北アメリカ、中央アメリカおよび南アメリカ北部に火葬の風習がみられる。一方、アフリカ大陸の民族においては、火葬はきわめてまれである。

［清水　純］

日本における火葬

わが国では6世紀から火葬の存在が知られているが、8世紀以降、仏教文化とともに、わが国の火葬習俗は始まったとするのが穏当であろう。仏教の浸透が、寺院の建立とともに火葬を招来させたと考えてよい。火葬はまず上層階級に導入され、やがて地方の豪族に広まっていった。15世紀以降、仏教の庶民への広がりとともに火葬も普及していったが、その方法としては、庶民の間では、野天に穴を掘って、多量の薪(まき)と藁(わら)を置き、棺の上にも積み上げて火をつけ、長時間かけて焼いた。しかし、火葬に立ち会う近親者たちには正視しがたい作業であり、やがて専業の三昧聖(さんまいひじり)などにゆだねられていく所が少なくなかった。近世になると、儒学者や国学者の間から、火葬は残酷な異国の習俗とする火葬反対論が台頭し、火葬が下火になった所もあったが、都市部や真宗の広がった地域などを中心に徐々に増加の傾向がみられた。明治時代に入ると、廃仏棄釈、神道の国教化政策が推進されるなかで、1873年（明治6）7月18日、火葬禁止の太政官(だじょうかん)布告まで出された。この禁令は2年後の75年5月23日に廃されるが、その後、明治政府が伝染病死者を火葬にすることを命じたため、地方の土葬が行われていた市町村でも、しだいに火葬場を設けるようになった。大正時代になると、1915年（大正4）の全国の火葬率は36.2％となるが、府県別には著しい差がみられた。現代では、焼くこと、拾骨、納骨という手続をとる火葬は、宗教的には真宗地帯に、都市と農村とでは都市部に集中して分布し、拡大・普及した。その要因として、火葬は死の汚穢(おあい)感を薄め、分骨が容易化されるし、墓地が狭小ですみ、都市化や宅地化のなかでの土葬不適地域の拡大などがあげられる。

［浅香勝輔］

　土葬の場合は、埋葬することでいちおう死体の処理が完了するが、火葬では、火葬で死体の処理を済ませたあと、さらに遺骨の処理が必要になり、二重の手続を踏むことになる。これは南島で行われる洗骨や、土葬でも改葬して骨を祭り直す習俗と共通点があり、葬法の系統をたどるうえで重要な意味をもつ。火葬の歴史は古いが、そのまま爆発的に普及したわけではなくて、近年までは土葬のほうが多かった。人口が都市に集中し、衛生の観点から、地方自治体が条例で土葬を禁止したため、火葬が土葬を圧倒した。浄土真宗の盛んな地方は、比較的早くから火葬に転じ、また伝染病患者は法的に火葬が求められた。現在は近代的な設備をもつ火葬場が多くなり、遺族は1～2時間で収骨（拾骨）することができるようになった。火葬には、大都市圏では都市ガス、地方では灯油が使われることが多い。以前は重油や石炭を使っており、その前は薪や藁で焼いた。集落から離れたところに火葬場を設け、土地を少し掘りくぼめ、空気の通りやすいように四方に溝を設ける。葬式組の人たちが持ち寄った薪の上に棺を置き、藁や蓆(むしろ)をかぶせて火をつける。当番の人が朝方までかかって焼いたものである。朝になると遺族が出向いて骨(こつ)拾いをする。木と竹と片々の箸(はし)を使い、1人が拾った骨を箸移しで他の人が受け取る。そのため日常の食事のとき、片々の箸や箸移しを忌む。のどぼとけの骨を尊重する気持ちが強い。寺院の納骨堂などに分骨することも、火葬に伴う慣行である。

［井之口章次］

『大林太良著『葬制の起源』（中公文庫）』

[参照項目] | 火葬場 | 葬制

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