Jeepney Press / Alma Fatagani-Sato

Japanese Movies about Death by Alma Fatagani-Sato

Maybe many would think that this topic is quite inappropriate at this time of the year, when people are very ecstatic enjoying the view of the beautiful autumn leaves all over Japan. I still feel the sadness and tiredness brought about by the sudden demise of my beloved father-in-law last October. Besides, November 2nd is The All Souls’ Day in the Philippines.

When I was still living in Thailand, and studying the Japanese language, my Japanese teacher recommends some Japanese movies for his students to watch. The genre would always be too serious, difficult to bear, and morbid for my taste. At that time, I didn’t know anything about dying in Japan. For me, funerals should be happy and a time to look back at the happier times of the deceased.

Now that I’m living in Japan, and experienced the situation of a loved one passing, I became fully aware that death in this country is such a heavy matter and taken way too seriously. Not to mention the exorbitant costs of even the most simple funeral arrangement. I suddenly began to think about the movies, that I have watched long time ago, namely – The Funeral (1984), Antoki no inochi (Life back then; 2011) and Okuribito (Departures; 2008). These movies tell a story about death in Japan.

The Funeral is a movie written and directed by Juzo Itami. This film shows the preparations for a traditional Japanese funeral. It mixes grief at the loss of a husband and father. In the story, a difficult 69-year-old married man dies suddenly of a heart attack, and his daughter and son-in-law have to organize the funeral at their house. Among other things, the family has to choose a coffin, hire a priest, hold a wake, learn formal funeral etiquette and hold the service itself. During the three days of preparation, various tensions within the family are hinted at.

After the service, the long-suffering wife delivers a dignified speech to the family regretting that the hospital would not let her be with her husband as he died.

Okuribito (Departures) is about a devoted cellist, Daigo Kobayashi, in an orchestra that has just been dissolved and now without a job. He decides to move back to his old hometown with his wife to look for work and start over.

He finds an advertisement for a job "assisting departures". Assuming it to be a job in a travel agency, he goes to the interview and learns that the job is actually for a "Nokanshi" or "encoffineer," a funeral professional who prepares deceased bodies for burial and entry into the next life. He will be preparing bodies for cremation in a ceremony known as encoffinment. Though reluctant, he is hired on the spot and receives a cash advance from his new boss. While his wife and others despise the job, he takes a certain pride in his work and begins to perfect the art of "Nokanshi," acting as a gentle gatekeeper between life and death, between the departed and the family of the departed. The film follows his profound and sometimes comical journey with death as he uncovers the wonder, joy and meaning of life and living. (The Japanese encoffineer and the Western undertaker may have similar role, but their jobs are totally different from each other.)

Antoki no Inochi (Life back then) is about two misfits and outcasts whose histories are filled with tragedy and trauma begin to come into their own as they become acquainted at work where they clean out the belongings of the deceased. Their past experiences, current encounters and the communication of it with each other helps the process of catharsis as they grapple with the memories that cannot be ignored or suppressed. The two not only bring into focus their dismal pasts, but also highlight the selfishness and inattentiveness of current society and its citizens. (This summary is from IMDB web https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1 848784/)

Having watched those movies and experienced some of the situations depicted on it, made me admire the way the dead body is handled and prepared for the funeral in Japan. Funeral arrangements are very detailed and carefully planned.

I now realized the reason my Japanese teacher wanted us, his students, to watch those movies-- they are quite near to reality, and definitely show a very admirable part of the Japanese culture. Being a language teacher and having the need to learn many foreign languages, I always say to my students that “To study and understand a foreign language, you also have to learn about the culture of the country.”

ALMA FATAGANI-SATO

Jeepney Press