A social-historical study of the spread of urban life-styles and changing views of life and death in Japan

在明治中期，为了改善和教化日本的习俗，发展了“葬礼告别仪式”和神道教的婚礼仪式。这就是所谓的现代日本“成人礼”。除了那些与日本传统家庭有关的习俗外，大多数宗教习俗都被认为是纯粹的迷信。这些适应新的城市生活方式的现代成人礼与传统仪式有着密切的联系。起初，只有知识分子参加这些仪式，但逐渐大城市的普通民众也开始参加。随着20世纪60年代经济的快速发展，这些习俗传遍了整个国家。在此之前，只有大公司才举行“公司葬礼”，但在繁荣之后，中小企业也为其创始人举行了葬礼。许多人也开始在这段时间举行大型和昂贵的仪式。从20世纪90年代开始，随着高龄人口的增加和出生率的下降，以旧的生活方式举行葬礼变得困难。例如，过去很难购买没有后代的坟墓的权利。“自然丧葬”（自然丧葬：将骨灰撒在海洋或陆地上）和其他新的丧葬习俗正在发展中，人们可以选择自己的埋葬方式。举办传统葬礼的社会压力已经减弱，日本的葬礼变得更加私密。因此，对死亡和殡葬仪式的看法变得更加多样化。

In mid-Meiji, kokubetsu-shiki (farewell ceremony during funerals) and Shinto wedding ceremonies were developed with the aim of improving and civilizing Japanese customs. These were the so-called modern Japanese "rites of passage." Except for those customs relating to the traditional Japanese household, or ie, most religious customs were considered mere superstitions.These modern rites of passage, suitable for the new urban life-style, were closely connected to the ie tem. At first, only intellectuals took part in these rites, but gradually the general populace of large cities also began to participate. Following the period of advanced economic growth in the 1960s, these customs spread throughout the entire country. Prior to this period, "shaso" (company funerals) " were only conducted by large companies, but after the boom, medium and small-sized businesses also held shaso for their founders. A large number of people also began conducting large-scale and expensive ceremonies during this time.Since the 1990s, the increased number of elderly people, along with a decrease in the birth rate have made it difficult to hold funerals based on the old ie system. For example, it used to be very difficult to buy the rights to a grave without descendants. "Shizen-so" (natural funeral : scattering bone-ashes in the ocean or on land) and other new burial customs are now being developed to allow people to choose how they will be buried. Societal pressure to conduct a traditional funeral service has weakened and Japanese funerals are become more private. As a result, views of death and mortuary rites are becoming more diversified.