The reason why the author of the "Sho-rei Hikki" has treated so
briefly of the funeral ceremonies is probably that these rites, being
invariably entrusted to the Buddhist priesthood, vary according to the
sect of the latter; and, as there are no less than fifteen sects of
Buddhism in Japan, it would be a long matter to enter into the
ceremonies practised by each. Should Buddhism be swept out of Japan,
as seems likely to be the case, men will probably return to the old
rites which obtained before its introduction in the sixth century of
our era. What those rites were I have been unable to learn.