Mutual Aid Associations for Funerals in a Local Community: A Comparison of Keiyaku-ko in Rural and Urban Areas

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  • OBA Aya
    大正大学大学院文学研究科宗教学専攻博士後期課程/日本学術振興会特別研究員

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  • 地域社会と葬儀の互助組織―農村と町場の契約講の比較から―
  • チイキ シャカイ ト ソウギ ノ ゴジョ ソシキ : ノウソン ト マチバ ノ ケイヤクコウ ノ ヒカク カラ

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<p>Keiyaku-ko is a mutual aid organization that is widely disbursed in Tohoku. Almost all previous studies have examined its role in rural areas, and it is considered to play a very important role in carrying out burials. However, we can also find Keiyaku-ko in urban areas, where cremation has been carried out as custom. This paper elucidates what Keiyaku-ko is like in urban areas, why people there need it and how it works for them, and then analyzes the case of Mukaimachi, a town in Mogami, Yamagata, by comparing it with that of rural areas. In the Taisho period, a railroad was built in Mukaimachi and many migrants who were non-farmers came and settled there. But it was not easy for them to acquire the straw that was needed for cremation. After finding others in a similar situation, they organized many types of Keiyaku-ko based on their occupation, hometown, and so on, to carry out cremations. Organizations such as this one coexist and are closely related to the social stratification of the area and support funeral ceremonies.</p>

Journal

  • Religion and Society

    Religion and Society 24 (0), 49-63, 2018-06-09

    The Japanese Association for the Study of Religion and Society

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