Take our user survey and make your voice heard.
Emperor Akihito will break with a centuries-old burial tradition by opting to be cremated like most ordinary citizens in the densely-populated nation, officials said Friday.
That would mark the first time in almost four hundred years that a Japanese emperor has not been buried, according to the Imperial Household Agency.
It added that the 79-year-old emperor's wife, Empress Michiko, would also be cremated.
The agency, which runs the affairs of Japan's revered imperial family, said the couple were concerned about limited space in Tokyo's royal graveyard.
"Cremation has become a common practice in Japan and imperial history has seen both cremations and burial," the palace said in a statement.
Cremation is common in the country of 128 million people where space is at a premium, while it is also a frequent practice in Buddhism.
The imperial couple's remains would be placed into a pair of relatively modest, yet-to-be-constructed tombs in the graveyard where wartime Emperor Showa, his father Emperor Taisho and their wives were buried.
© (c) 2013 AFP
13 Comments
Login to comment
ambrosia
Oh dear! He's breaking with tradition. Where are all the nationalistic chest-thumpers now? Shouldn't someone be dragging some poor bloke through the mud and over the coals for allowing this to happen? Why isn't the Imperial Household Agency up in arms over this crying about how traditions - pointless or not - must continue or what will happen to the people's sense of security?
sveinnyves
I still think the tomb still takes a big chunk of land regardless of burial or cremation...
darnname
People took nutrients from the earth during their lives, they should be buried to give some of it back.
Cremation is unnatural.
WilliB
Oh boy, the Kunaisho must be livid. First the horrible crime of receiving a letter from a citizen, and now this...
ambrosia
If that's the case then all royalty should be buried now regardless as to whether or not their tickers have stopped!
Jaymann
amen to that ambrosia
darknuts
Burial is not natural and does not return nutrients to the earth since the body is encapsulated. Humans are the only species that buries it's dead. Cremation is more natural and truly returns the body to the earth in the form of ashes.
toshiko
Histroy scholars can not do any researxcch of any kofun (old tomb) of known ancient Emperors. And there is no enough space in His property. This is not first time this emperor broke tradition. He acknowledged one Emperor was Korean. Read Emperor of Japan -Wikipedia to learn strange tradition (especially family and marriage). He lives in this age. Don;t blame him going on his own, Did you check His face when Yamamoto gave his hadwritten paers to Him? Did you notice emperor talked something? He is so restricted by Constitution and other laws related to Imperial House that once in a while He has to express his thinking if he is not breaking constitution (article 1-8, 98, 99) against Emperor. Nationalist get cremations, depending on where their funerals are held , too.
TokyoGas
I remember a Japanese person told me that research was not done because they were fearful of finding out the origins of the person buried.
toshiko
@TokyoGas: IWhat you wrote is one of reasons to prohibit scholars. In Southern Japan, there were kofuns that were dug and found many Korean and Chinese artifacts, People there don;t tell but they know Japanese people are not pure natives like northern people such as Ainu and Kuril. This Emperor actually reviving old cremation custom instead of bury bodies. (do-sou).
ambrosia
What do you mean by natural, anyway and are we all meant to live our lives in a "natural" manner? Do you drive a car, ride a bus, shave any part of your body, wear manmade fiber clothing, eat prepackaged food, sleep on a foam mattress? Are any of those things natural?
Why are you still talking about that? Nobody on this site besides you and some other nationalists care about that.
What does that even mean?
toshiko
@ambrosia: 1st question: I was writing that to remind Emperor, regardless of some think he is God or keep tradition enjoyed a commoner talked to him. 2nd question is about cremation custom of Japan. Isn't this about Emperor;'s wish and cremation? Buddhis tradition is usually cremation. Thank goodness you labeled me nationalist instead of I have to write with perfect English. I have to quit to write because my English is not perfect. For your information, I was only one who wrote anyone who use 'gofujo' are not God. Thank you for you, Nationalists will no longer label me as anti-Emperor system promoter,
ambrosia
Toshiko: Sorry but I really don't understand what you're trying to say and Yamamoto's actions have nothing to do with this story.