Invisible Population

The Place of the Dead in East-Asian Megacities

Contributions by Maylis Bellocq, Kim Shi Dug, Fabienne Duteil-Ogata, Yukihiro Kawaguchi, Elise Prebin, Katsumi Shimane, Ryokei Takamura Edited by Natacha Aveline-Dubach

Publication date:

11 May 2012

Length of book:

250 pages

Publisher

Lexington Books

ISBN-13: 9780739171448

The issue of population ageing in East-Asia has been extensively studied but we remain in the dark as to the fate of the region’s growing dead population, particularly in the largest metropolitan areas where there is bitter competition for space among the various human activities. From private cemetery developers to undertakers, not to mention a vast array of sub-contractors, death is discreetly helping a multitude of industry players to prosper. The result has been the transformation of funeral services into a fully-fledged industry that is rapidly expanding and adapting to the needs of urban societies with their extreme lack of space. In the specific context of East-Asian megacities, funeral rituals and practices are evolving rapidly in an attempt to conform to spatial constraints and address emerging challenges such as urban sustainability and growing social inequalities.

Research dealing with death in East-Asia has so far focused on symbolic and religious issues, ignoring the social, economic and spatial dimensions that have become crucial in a context of rapid urbanization. This book aims to remedy this situation while highlighting for the first time the shared characteristics of funerary issues across Japan, Korea and China.

Introduction, 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

Invisible 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.