Description
Book SynopsisThis book provides new information on funerary practices in East Asiaâs largest cities in which spatial constraints and the secularization of lifestyles are driving innovation. It reveals common trends in Japan, China and Korea, and addresses emerging challenges such as urban sustainability and growing social inequities.
Trade ReviewInvisible Population: The Place of the Dead in East Asian Megacities is an excellent and insightful study of death-related practices and industries in China, Korea, and Japan. Based on fieldwork in these three very different Asian countries, the authors explore changes in funeral customs, innovations in the forms and locations of graves, and the treatment of the corpse. The research is well integrated and clearly presented. The book can be read by both scholars and students of East Asia. -- Elizabeth Kenney, Kansai Gaidai University
Table of ContentsIntroduction, Natacha Aveline-Dubach Chapter 1: Creative Destruction—The Shattering of the Family Grave System in Japan, Natacha Aveline-Dubach Chapter 2: The Experience of Death in Japan’s Urban Societies, Katsumi Shimane Chapter 3: Emerging Burial Spaces and Rituals in Urban Japan, Fabienne Duteil-Ogata Chapter 4: The Revival of the Funeral Industry in Shanghai: A Model for China, Natacha Aveline-Dubach Chapter 5: Dealing with the Dead: Funerary Rites in Contemporary Shanghai, Maylis Bellocq Chapter 6: Traditional Funerary Rites Facing Urban Explosion in Guangzhou, Yukihiro Kawaguchi Chapter 7: Cremation’s Success in Korea: Old Beliefs and Renewed Social Distinctions, Elise Prebin Chapter 8: Funerary Sites in Seoul: A History Marked by Colonial Experience, Ryohei Takamura Chapter 9: Overview of Korea’s Funeral Industry, Shi-Dug Kim Conclusion
