Wake - Tsuya

Japanese: 通夜 - つや

The literal meaning is "all night long," but it can generally refer to a stay in seclusion for a religious festival or prayer, or to close relatives staying by the side of a corpse to watch over it between the time of death and the funeral, with the latter term coming to be more commonly used. The original purpose of a wake after a death was to watch over the unstable spirit of the deceased and to prevent the approach of evil spirits, and it was believed that the deceased might sometimes come back to life, so a small number of close relatives stayed up all night. However, as funerals in general became more of a mutual aid-oriented event for local groups such as funeral parties, it became common for condolences to be paid in advance of the funeral, with neighbors bringing food and drink, and the funeral home providing considerable entertainment, and it became customary for the wake to end before midnight. In the past, the deceased would be surrounded by a pillow screen and simple offerings such as rice cooked in a pillow, a single flower, incense, and a lighted candle would be made, but as the number of mourners increased, it became common to quickly bathe the deceased and place them in the coffin and to decorate the altar in advance.

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

Japanese:

字義は夜通しということであるが，一般には神祭りや祈願のためのお籠りをいう場合と，人が死んでから葬儀を行うまでの間，近親者が死体のそばで見守って夜を過すことをいう場合とがあり，特に後者を示すことが普通になってきた。死後の通夜は，不安定な死者の霊を見守り，また邪霊などの接近を防ぐことが本来の目的で，ときには死者が息を吹返す可能性もあったとされ，少数の最近親者が夜通し起き明かした。しかし葬儀全般の運営が葬式組など地域集団の相互扶助的な性格を強めるに伴い，葬儀に先立って通夜の弔問が一般的となり，近隣縁者が飲食物を持寄り，葬家においても相当の接待を行い，深夜に及ばない時刻をもって通夜を打切ることが慣習となった。また，かつては死者のまわりに枕屏風をめぐらして，枕飯，一本花，線香，灯明などの簡単な供物を上げるだけであったが，弔問者が多くなると，早く湯灌・入棺をすませ，あらかじめ祭壇を飾りつけることが一般的になった。

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