Looking at Changes in the Consciousness of Mourning and the Dead : General Research on Funerals and Graves

这项联合研究的目的是，在把握到目前为止的历史情况的同时，弄清现代日本人在哀悼和处理死者方面的各种变化，他们感受到了近年来社会变革的影响，面临着重大转折点。此外，我们的目的是将这些结果汇编为数据，以显示未来事情的方向。对日本死者的社会处理开始由当地社区承担，而当地社区传统上保留着这种责任。然而，随着现代化的推进，基于血缘关系和共同领土纽带的社区参与不断减弱，随着地方社区联系的放松，对死者的处理正在转变为私人事务。另一方面，从现代城市的墓地管理等方面来看，要求市政府有义务提供死后安息之地和公开纪念战争死难者的趋势正在增强。因此，在这次联合研究中，我们召集了在殡葬制度研究方面表现出很大成就的不同研究领域的成员，并适当地责成他们澄清上述问题。据此，进行了以下两项联合调查：(1)现代人悼念死者的国民态度调查(2)冲绳县Mabuni-no-Oka战争纪念馆调查

The aim of this joint research was, while grasping the historical situation until now, to make clear the various changes seen in the mourning and the handling of the dead by present day Japanese, which having felt the effects of the social change in recent years faced a major turning point. Moreover, it was our purpose to compile those results as data that would show the direction of things to come. The social handling of Japan's dead came to be undertaken by the local community which traditionally retained such responsibilty. However, as moderninzation moves forward, the communal participation based on blood relationships and shared territorial bonds is continuing to weaken and with the relaxing of local communities ties, the handling of the dead is changing into a private affair.On the other hand, from the administration of cemeteries and the like in the cities of the modern era, the trend for demanding that municipal governments be obligated to provide afterdeath resting places and the publicly honoring of the war dead is greatening. In that meaning, it is possible that in present day Japan the social concensus regarding the mourning and handling of the dead will suffer under a "critical situtation" of increasing ambiguity.Therefore, in this joint research we have assembled members representing various fields of study who have demonstrated much accomplishment in the research of funeral and burial systems and have duly tasked them with clarifying the aforementioned problems. Accordingly, the two joint surveys listed below were conducted.(1)Modern Man's Mourning of the Dead, National Attitude Survey(2)A Survey of War Memorials at Okinawa Prefecture's Mabuni-no-Oka