(FROM THE "SHO-REI HIKKI.")
On the death of a parent, the mourning clothes worn are made of coarse
hempen cloth, and during the whole period of mourning these must be
worn night and day. As the burial of his parents is the most important
ceremony which a man has to go through during his whole life, when the
occasion comes, in order that there be no confusion, he must employ
some person to teach him the usual and proper rites. Above all things
to be reprehended is the burning of the dead: they should be interred
without burning.[123] The ceremonies to be observed at a funeral
should by rights have been learned before there is occasion to put
them in practice. If a man have no father or mother, he is sure to
have to bury other relations; and so he should not disregard this
study. There are some authorities who select lucky days and hours and
lucky places for burying the dead, but this is wrong; and when they
talk about curses being brought upon posterity by not observing these
auspicious seasons and places, they make a great mistake. It is a
matter of course that an auspicious day must be chosen so far as
avoiding wind and rain is concerned, that men may bury their dead
without their minds being distracted; and it is important to choose a
fitting cemetery, lest in after days the tomb should be damaged by
rain, or by men walking over it, or by the place being turned into a
field, or built upon. When invited to a friend's or neighbour's
funeral, a man should avoid putting on smart clothes and dresses of
ceremony; and when he follows the coffin, he should not speak in a
loud voice to the person next him, for that is very rude; and even
should he have occasion to do so, he should avoid entering wine-shops
or tea-houses on his return from the funeral.
[Footnote 123: On the subject of burning the dead, see a note to the
story of Chôbei of Bandzuin.]
The list of persons present at a funeral should be written on slips of
paper, and firmly bound together. It may be written as any other list,
only it must not be written beginning at the right hand, as is usually
the case, but from the left hand (as is the case in European books).
On the day of burial, during the funeral service, incense is burned in
the temple before the tablet on which is inscribed the name under
which the dead person enters salvation.[124] The incense-burners,
having washed their hands, one by one, enter the room where the tablet
is exposed, and advance half-way up to the tablet, facing it;
producing incense wrapped in paper from their bosoms, they hold it in
their left hands, and, taking a pinch with the right hand, they place
the packet in their left sleeve. If the table on which the tablet is
placed be high, the person offering incense half raises himself from
his crouching position; if the table be low, he remains crouching to
burn the incense, after which he takes three steps backwards, with
bows and reverences, and retires six feet, when he again crouches down
to watch the incense-burning, and bows to the priests who are sitting
in a row with their chief at their head, after which he rises and
leaves the room. Up to the time of burning the incense no notice is
taken of the priest. At the ceremony of burning incense before the
grave, the priests are not saluted. The packet of incense is made of
fine paper folded in three, both ways.
[Footnote 124: After death a person receives a new name. For instance,
the famous Prince Tokugawa Iyéyasu entered salvation as Gongen Sama.
This name is called _okurina_, or the accompanying name.]