This film is part of Free

Japanese Funeral

A grand funeral procession of rickshaws and a horse-drawn carriage flaunts the wealth and power of the deceased.

Non-Fiction 1904 1 mins Silent

Overview

Seated on pulled rickshaws, Buddhist monks lead the way, followed by the families of the deceased and other attendees. The ornate coffin is carried by ten men. Until the end of the Edo period (1603-1867), throughout Japan funeral processions took place only at night. As daytime processions became common in the Meiji period, the funerals of the affluent urban class became increasingly luxurious. The long, expensive processions came to be seen as an emblem of wealth. (Kosuke Fujiki)