Japanese funerals

A Japanese funeral is almost always Buddhist in form, even in families who would not describe themselves as religious. Cremation is near-universal, and the memorial calendar afterwards runs for decades. This guide covers what to expect – before, during and after – and how your local Dignity funeral director can support you.

10 September 2026

About Japanese funerals

Japanese beliefs about death

Most Japanese people are both Buddhist and Shinto, and hold their funerals in Buddhist style. Shinto funeral ceremonies are not common. A traditional home has two altars: a Shinto one for the household deities, and a Buddhist one for the family ancestors.

The person who has died receives a posthumous Buddhist name, and joins the ancestors commemorated at the family altar. The relationship continues, marked by a long sequence of memorial services and by grave visits at fixed seasons.

Japanese funeral ceremonies

The sequence is well defined. A sutra is chanted at the bedside before the body is placed in the coffin. A wake follows, at home or at a temple, with an elaborate altar. Then comes the funeral itself and the farewell ceremony.

Mourners offer incense in turn, and the chief mourner may speak briefly. Sentimental items may be placed in the coffin.

Arranging a Japanese funeral

At Dignity, we support families of every culture and belief. From arranging a wake at our chapel of rest to working with a Buddhist priest, we have the expertise and experience to honour every detail. If you need to arrange a Japanese funeral, just contact your local Dignity funeral director who will talk everything through with you.

What to expect at a Japanese funeral

The wake is the first gathering. In Japan it may run all night or be shortened to an evening, and it is usually a lively occasion with food and drink rather than a silent vigil. We can host it at our chapel of rest or work with a temple.

Before that, a priest may chant a sutra over the body. If your family wants a posthumous Buddhist name conferred, that is arranged with the temple, and it is worth asking early about the offering the temple expects.

Tell us whether relatives are travelling from Japan, so we can plan the timing around them.

The funeral and the farewell ceremony run together. A priest chants; mourners come forward in turn to offer incense, sitting and then standing to do so; the chief mourner may address those present.

Mourners are often invited to place items in the coffin. In Japan, they may also symbolically pound a nail into the lid with a stone. Funeral staff routinely instruct mourners on how to offer incense and how to bow, and we can do the same if guests are unfamiliar with the customs.

Cremation follows. This is the part UK families most need to plan for, and it is covered below.

After a cremation in Japan, the closest relatives gather around the remains and lift the bones into the urn with chopsticks, traditionally one of bamboo and one of wood, and often two people working together. UK crematoria do not operate this way, but a modified or symbolic version is sometimes possible if arranged in advance.

Mourners are ritually purified with salt and water before re-entering the house. The urn, the photograph and the memorial tablet are then placed on the home altar with incense, a candle and offerings.

The memorial calendar is long. Services are held weekly until the seventh week after the death, at the forty-ninth day, at one hundred days, then at one year, at what is called the third year, and onward as far as the thirty-third.

The household Buddhist altar, the butsudan, holds the memorial tablets of the ancestors, and families light incense and offer flowers there. Graves are visited freely, and particularly at Obon in midsummer, at New Year and at the equinoxes, when relatives clean the grave and set out food and flowers.

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Funeral etiquette

Japanese funeral etiquette is unusually specific, and guests are normally guided through it rather than expected to know. Here's what to expect:

Condolence money

Mourners hand over an envelope of cash, called koden or incense money, at a reception desk on arrival. The family later sends a return gift. Conventions on the envelope itself vary, so ask the family.

Offering incense

You will be invited forward in turn to offer incense. Someone will show you how, and it is entirely normal not to know in advance.

Food and drink

The wake is usually a sociable occasion with food and drink, not a silent vigil. A meal often follows the funeral too.

Paying respects

Bowing is the customary mark of respect, and the family or funeral staff will guide you. Salt and water are used to purify mourners before returning to the house.

Key terms

Tsuya (通夜): The wake before the funeral, at home or at a temple. It may run all night or be shortened to an evening.
Makuragyo (枕経): The pillow sutra, chanted over the body before it is placed in the coffin.
Kokubetsu-shiki (告別式): The farewell ceremony, which replaced the street procession and is now joined to the funeral itself.
Moshu (営主): The chief mourner, who receives condolences and may address those present.
Koden (香典): Incense money. The cash condolence gift handed over in an envelope on arrival.
Koden-gaeshi (香典返し): The return gift the family sends to those who gave koden.
Kotsuage / shukotsu (骨揚げ / 収骨): Lifting the cremated bones into the urn with chopsticks, traditionally one bamboo and one wood.
Kaimyo (戒名): The posthumous Buddhist name conferred on the person who has died.
Shijukunichi (四十九日): The forty-ninth day, the last of the seven weekly memorial services.
Butsudan (仏壇): The Buddhist household altar holding the memorial tablets of the family's ancestors.
Obon (お盆): The midsummer festival, 13 to 15 July or August, when the dead are believed to return and graves are cleaned and lit.

Japanese funeral costs

The cost of a Japanese funeral in the UK depends on the funeral director, the crematorium, and what your family chooses to include. Where a temple confers a posthumous name, the offering to the temple is separate from our charges and is arranged with them directly. A wake the evening before, and any adaptation of the practices around collecting the ashes, need discussing early because both affect the arrangements. Your local Dignity funeral director can talk you through everything that is included, and the costs.

Find a funeral director

Our funeral directors are at the heart of their communities, with over 500 branches across the UK. Search below to see if we have a funeral director near you.

Other cultural funerals

At Dignity, we’re here to support families of every culture. We can arrange Chinese, Korean, Irish, Spanish, African, Nigerian, Caribbean and Jamaican funerals, and funerals for people of every faith and none. Contact your local funeral director to talk about what your family needs.

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Frequently asked questions

We’re here to answer all your questions. If anything isn’t clear, please ask us.

The sequence is well defined. A sutra is chanted at the bedside before the person who has died is placed in the coffin. A wake, the tsuya, follows at home or at a temple, with an elaborate altar. The funeral itself comes next, joined to the farewell ceremony, the kokubetsu-shiki, which replaced the old street procession. Mourners offer incense in turn, and the chief mourner may speak briefly. Sentimental items can be placed in the coffin.

Guests usually bring koden, incense money, handed over in an envelope when they arrive. The family later sends a return gift, koden-gaeshi, to everyone who gave it. Japanese funeral etiquette is unusually specific, but guests are normally guided through it rather than expected to know it, so you will be shown what to do at each point. If you are still unsure, it is worth asking the family or the funeral director beforehand.

The family take part in kotsuage, lifting the bones into the urn with chopsticks, traditionally one bamboo and one wood. Memorial services then follow weekly for seven weeks, ending on the forty-ninth day, the shijukunichi. The person who has died receives a posthumous Buddhist name and joins the ancestors remembered at the butsudan, the household altar, and graves are visited at fixed seasons, including Obon in midsummer. If your family wants to adapt the practices around collecting the ashes, tell your funeral director early, because it affects the arrangements.

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Japanese funerals

About Japanese funerals

Japanese beliefs about death

Japanese funeral ceremonies

Arranging a Japanese funeral

What to expect at a Japanese funeral

Funeral etiquette

Condolence money

Offering incense

Food and drink

Paying respects

Key terms

Japanese funeral costs

Find a funeral director

Other cultural funerals

Frequently asked questions

Trusted by families across the UK

Related guides

Muslim funerals

Buddhist funerals

Irish funerals

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About Japanese funerals

Japanese beliefs about death

Japanese funeral ceremonies

Arranging a Japanese funeral

What to expect at a Japanese funeral

Before the funeral

At the funeral

After the funeral

Memorials – a lasting tribute

Funeral etiquette

Condolence money

Offering incense

Food and drink

Paying respects

Key terms

Japanese funeral costs

Find a funeral director

Other cultural funerals

Frequently asked questions

What happens at a Japanese funeral?

What should I take with me as a guest?

What happens after the cremation?

Trusted by families across the UK

Muslim funerals

Buddhist funerals

Irish funerals

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