Continuity and Changes in <i>Ihai</i> Worship in Contemporary Japan: Cases of <i>Ihai-wake</i> in Northern Gunma Prefecture in the Last 30 Years

<p>  This paper explains the current state of the changing custom of ihai (memorial tablet) worship in todayʼs society through the analysis of actual cases. The methodology consisted of revisiting informants who were interviewed in a study of ihai worship in a rural village in northern Gunma Prefecture in the 1980s to look at the extent ihai worship has persisted and the changes that have occurred over the last 30 years. The impact of changes in the social environment in this area on ihai worship was also analyzed.</p><p> </p><p>  It was found that ihai-wake (ihai sharing), a distinctive custom in this area - i.e. each offspring is given an ihai of the deceased parents - is still practiced today. The ihais of the familyʼs deceased members (the heads of the family and their wives of past generations, plus their siblings) and of deceased “guest members” (the parents of the wives and mothers) are worshipped equally at the family altar. On the other hand, with the shift to using permanent lacquer ihais instead of the traditional plain wood ones, the tendency is for the familyʼs ancestors to be given priority when replacing plain wood ihais with lacquer ones. This indicates the coexistence of two concepts: the egocentric notion of ancestors, in which the deceased close to the family, including the “guests,” limited only to a few generations are worshipped equally, and the genealogy-based notion of ancestors, which attaches more importance to the familyʼs ancestors over generations, reverting to the ancient progenitors. It is reckoned that a transition from the former to the latter is taking place.</p><p> </p><p>  The following factors are thought to have contributed to the changes in ihai worship: the encroachment of undertakers, the increasing number of funerals held at funeral parlors, demise of the unique local funeral culture, and the introduction of outside knowledge by head priests of Buddhist temples and undertakers. Furthermore, it is conceivable that the division of parents and children into separate households and the building of new houses or renovations also lead to the rearrangement and disposal of ihai, further driving changes in ihai worship. The process in which the local residents make their choices amid the tug-of-war between outside knowledge brought into the community and the unique local conception of the deceased and ancestors will be a subject for further research.</p>