Cremation grave - Kasobo

Japanese: 火葬墓 - かそうぼ

A tomb where the deceased is cremated and the remains are placed in a container for burial. Cremation began in Europe at the end of the Neolithic period and was widespread in the Bronze and Iron Ages. In the Greek and Roman periods, both cremation and burial were practiced, but cremation gradually fell out of use. Cremation was primarily practiced in India, as evidenced by the Indus Valley Civilization. Buddhists (→Buddhism) especially practiced cremation and placed the ashes in a container for burial. In China, there are records of cremation from the early 5th century, and many bone storage vessels appeared during the Tang Dynasty. In Japan, the first cremation was recorded in 700 by the monk Dosho. Archaeological evidence includes an example of a cremation tomb (kiln coffin) in Osaka Prefecture, which is thought to have been practiced since the early 7th century. This was believed to have been carried out by a group of recent immigrants and pottery craftsmen, and is different from the Buddhist ritual of cremation followed by bone collection. In the 8th century, not only monks but also aristocrats and local clans began to be cremated, and even emperors were allowed to perform cremations according to their wills. The adoption of cremation changed people's views on life and death, and the construction of kofun burial mounds gradually declined thereafter.

Source: Encyclopaedia Britannica Concise Encyclopedia About Encyclopaedia Britannica Concise Encyclopedia Information

Japanese:

死者を火葬し，遺骨を容器に収納して埋葬した墳墓。火葬は，ヨーロッパでは新石器時代末に始まり，青銅器時代，鉄器時代に広く行なわれた。ギリシア・ローマ時代には火葬，土葬とも行なわれたが，しだいに火葬は行なわれなくなった。火葬の中心はインドで，インダス文明にその証拠がある。仏教徒（→仏教）は特に火葬を行ない，遺灰を容器に入れて安置した。中国では 5世紀初めから火葬の記録があり，唐代には蔵骨器が多数出現する。日本における火葬は，文献では文武4（700）年の僧道昭が最初とされる。考古学資料としては大阪府における火葬古墳（窯槨）の例があり，7世紀初頭から行なわれていたと考えられる。これは新来の渡来人，陶部の工人集団によるものとされ，荼毘に付したのち骨上げする仏教の法式とは異なるものである。8世紀に入ると，僧はもちろん，貴族，地方豪族も火葬されるようになり，天皇も遺詔により火葬を行なうようになった。火葬の採用は死生観を転換させ，以後しだいに古墳の造営が衰えていった。

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