Japan has come up with a novel way to find out what the afterlife experience might be like! Kajiya Honten, a Futtsu-based funeral home, recently put to work an idea that would allow people to experience the afterlife by lying in a specially designed coffin. One has to pay JPY 2,200 to gain that experience. This is basically a Coffin Café set up by the 120-year-old funeral home! Those who wish can lie in the coffins and experience how a body is kept after the demise of a person.

As per an article published recently in the South China Morning Post, the new initiative is specially designed to help people to experience how peaceful the afterlife could be. When someone wants to choose a comfortable environment for her/him after death, the person can check in advance at this Coffin Café. As expected, this unique idea has triggered a sensation across the globe!

Kajiya Honten funeral home was founded in Futtsu, located in Chiba Prefecture, Japan, in 1902 during the Meiji Era (a period in Japanese history that lasted from 1868 to 1912). It has been serving the people of Japan for more than a century. Kajiya Honten launched this special service in September 2024. There are three coffins in the café… shaded gold, green and yellow. They are decorated with flowers and various designs in order to create a calm and peaceful atmosphere.

Kajiya Honten has set up the café away from the funeral hall so that funeral attendees could not interact with customers of the café. Kiyotaka Hirano, the President of the funeral home, told the South China Morning Post that the demise of his father inspired him to launch this unique service. He stressed: “While most young people think about weddings, few consider funerals. However, everyone can approach this experience differently. Some may want to close the coffin lid for a few minutes to contemplate how they would like to live before their time comes.” He describes this activity as a symbolic rebirth, stating: “Coming out of the coffin can symbolise a reset – a chance to begin anew. We hope people leave feeling revitalised and ready to live their lives more fully.”

South China Morning Post quoted the 48-year-old Hirano as saying: “The experience also provides an opportunity to re-evaluate your relationships with family and loved ones. Coming out of the coffin can symbolise a rebirth, a reset of one’s life. I hope people leave feeling they can begin anew.”

Meanwhile, Hirano has decided to enhance customer satisfaction, instead of competing on price with others. He has started taking special care in selecting coffins and floral arrangements to meet requirements of his clients.

It may be noted that the funeral industry of Japan is experiencing a declining demand mainly because of demographic, as well as cultural, shifts. As per a 2023 survey carried out by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, a 16% drop in funeral costs has been recorded over the past decade. However, this innovative initiative of Kajiya Honten has garnered attention both locally and abroad.

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Published by Koushik Das

Koushik Das (born on May 16, 1976 in Kolkata) is a career journalist. Based in the Indian capital of New Delhi, Koushik writes mainly about foreign policies and current geopolitical issues, and rarely about other topics. His own political ideas are highly influenced by Antonio Gramsci, Louis Althusser, Michel Foucault, Michael Oakeshott and others. English philosopher and political theorist Oakeshott (Dec 11, 1901-Dec 19, 1990) says that “in political activity, men sail a boundless and bottomless sea. There is neither harbour for shelter nor floor for anchorage, neither starting-place, nor appointed destination. But we have to keep afloat”. (Rationalism in Politics, 1962) As a student of Political Science, Koushik loves to share his views on issues, which have great impacts on his thought process (and also on India, South Asia and of course on the global community), with his readers through his website – Boundless Ocean of Politics. By doing so, he tries to keep himself afloat. You will find some of his articles in https://inserbia.info/today/ (https://inserbia.info/today/author/kou_das13_i/), as he has been trying to assess the global geopolitics since 2003. You can also mail him at kousdas@gmail.com View all posts by Koushik Das