Change in the choice of funeral location by bereaved families: Analysis of the obituary columns in the shimotsuke shimbun since the 1990’s

Abstract

In the recent past, bereaved families have changed their choice of funeral services from local communities to the putting them in the hands of funeral businesses. Furthermore, the funeral location has changed from the home of the deceased to the funeral hall. In this paper, I examined how the bereaved families, as users, choose the location of the funeral by looking at the obituary columns of local newspapers. In Utsunomiya City, the number of employees in the funeral service increased drastically in the 1990s, and at the same time the funeral location moved from the home of the deceased to the funeral hall. The funeral hall in the city was initially set up inside the DID, and as the user expands to the surrounding area and spreads near to the boundary of the DID, in recent years funeral halls have become reduced in size and installed in the center of the city. Based upon analysis of the obituary columns, bereaved families had a tendency to choose a funeral home near the home of the deceased. However, in 2009, the city crematory moved to the suburbs, and as the ceremonial hall adjoining this was easier to use, a number of bereaved families wanted to use the hall even though it was far away from the home. Furthermore, such bereaved families are expanding from within the DID to outside. As a result, it becomes clear that the involvement of local people in the funeral ceased, and that the funeral locations chosen by the bereaved families are expanding spatially.