Japan Finds Story of Hope in Undertaker Who Offered Calm Amid Disaster

[homasse]

Japan Finds Story of Hope in Undertaker Who Offered Calm Amid DisasterAmid the grief of finding her mother’s body at a makeshift morgue in this tsunami-ravaged city last March, Fumie Arai took comfort in a small but surprising discovery. Unlike the rest of the muddied body, her mother’s face had been carefully wiped clean

Comments

[romp]

This is beautiful, thank you.

The priest, Enou Shibasaki, from the Senjuin Temple in the hills overlooking Kamaishi, remembers the change that came over the makeshift morgue as Mr. Chiba and city workers tended to the bodies.

“Whether you are religious or not, mourning for the dead is a fundamental need,” Mr. Shibasaki said. “Mourning starts by taking care of the body. It’s the last you see of your loved one, and you want to remember them as beautiful as they were in life.”

It's sad that North America has lost this. It isn't healthy to hide death, not for the dying or those left.

[spiegel11th]

“You must be so cold and lonely, but your family is going to come for you soon so you’d better think of what you’re going to say to them when they arrive,”

Excuse me, I have something in my eye...

[perthro]

He's such a cool guy! Maybe Kodansha has a bilingual version?

It's articles like this that make me want to be a mortician in another country. Specifically, one that prepares bodies for burial, such as makeup and positioning. I think they are different positions here in America. I dunno. It seems like doing it in America seems so... impersonal. Stiff, in the worst way. I'm a little okay with the idea of being 'eta'. I've pretty much been considered subhuman for most of my life already, so the idea of being discriminated against wouldn't be new. It's kind of an outsider class in Japan still, isn't it? But people respect you anyways, even though you have a spiritually dirty job, because they know you take care of their loved ones.

[4eyedblonde]

This is so incredibly moving. What a sweet man.

[tabaqui]

Made me tear up. A compassionate, thoughtful man, taking time to help others in their grief while he's surrounded by his own.