Covid-19 has made it hard for the Japanese to visit family graves
But they have found high-tech ways round the problem
EVERY AUGUST the spirits of fallen ancestors rise all across Japan. During obon, the living commemorate them with offerings of food at altars, gather for festivals, and perform collective dances known as bon odori. Many stream back to their home towns to be with family and visit cemeteries to pay respects to their dead. “Graves are a place to talk,” says Yamazaki Masako of Zenyuseki, a tombstone carvers’ trade association.
This article appeared in the Asia section of the print edition under the headline “Virtual respect for the dead”
From the August 22nd 2020 edition
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