Pet funerals and animal graves in Japan

In contemporary Japan rites for dead pets are abridged versions of the rituals used for humans: encoffining, cremation, gathering the ashes, depositing the ashes in the grave or ossuary; making a household altar; visiting the grave; making offerings of food and incense; daily, monthly and/or annual memorial services. The Japanese practice of pet memorial services, new in itself, expresses familiar themes connected with death which are explored in this article: a concern for the proper treatment of the corpse; the importance of rituals for the dead; an underlying assumption that the living and the dead can interact; an optimistic assessment of the deceased's post mortem prospects; a persistent wariness about un-pacified spirits.