Incense offering (incense offering) - Kouden

Japanese: 香奠(香典) - こうでん

Money and goods given to the bereaved family at the time of a funeral. Etymologically, den means to offer, and refers to offerings to the dead, but unlike births and weddings, the idea is to cooperate to share the expenses of a funeral, which takes place unexpectedly, and to reduce the burden on the bereaved family. For this reason, today, incense offerings usually refer only to money, and offerings and other items tend not to be considered incense offerings, as they are secondary. However, the practice of giving money as the main form of offering is a relatively new one, and in rural areas, gifts are still primarily made of goods, especially food such as rice and rice cakes.

Source: Heibonsha World Encyclopedia, 2nd Edition Information

Japanese:

葬儀に際して喪家へ贈られる金銭･物品のこと。語源的には奠は供えるの意であり死者への供物を指しているが，出産･婚礼などと違い不意に執行される葬儀の経費を分担し喪家の負担を軽減する合力協助が趣意となっている。そのため今日では香奠は金銭のみをいう場合が普通であり，供物等の品はその従として香奠とはみなされない傾向にある。しかし，金銭を主に充てるようになったのは比較的新しい形態であり，地方の農村部ではいまだ物品ことに米や餅などの食料がその中心の贈与対象となっている。

出典　株式会社平凡社世界大百科事典第２版について　情報

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