How would you feel if someone talks to you about death? Do you know some people feel happy when spoken to about death? In Tokyo, they usually have a festival for death every year. Weird right?
In Tokyo ‘s Shukatsu Festival, people are actually taught how to properly prepare for death. We’re not kidding.
In Japanese, ‘Shukatsu’ means preparing for one’s end. Every year, December 16 is observed as the day of the ‘Shukatsu’ festival.
The business is called the ‘ending industry’. Its main aim is to make people aware of what after death is like and what will happen to the people one left after they passed. The visitors are provided with various workshops and other events for the same.
To make the experience more authentic, many participants are laid in coffins with sealed lids. Visitors are also taught about how to prepare the body of the person who has passed.
Japan not only has the world’s oldest populations but also has the largest funeral industries. But that doesn’t mean that the festival interests the elderly only. There are a large number of young people as well, who tend to show equal interest.
”This kind of event is held for those people anxious about such things and people who want to decide many things while they are still alive”, said China Tachiwana, from sales and planning at TOMONI.
The festival reminds people of the unpredictability and sorrow of death. Though, it also guides people not to think of it negatively and make sure that loved ones are well taken care of. It allows people to be rational and prepared about the phenomenon that strikes everybody.
