Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1884-06-02
A JAPANESE CREMATION.
An Established Usage in the Oldest En-
pire in the WOrld-HOw Japanese
Bodies are Disposed of.
letter to Pan KaU Gazette

Bodies are Disposed of.
Letter to Pan KaU Gazette.
In the House of Commons recently
the Home Secretary, opposing the bill
| introduced by DIR. Cameron, urged against
cremation that the elder nations, more
particularly the Greeks, had never
adopted the practice. There is one ma
ton, now the oldest empire in the world,
where cremation is an established usage,
and where the government, with shrewd
appreciation of the advantages of sani-
| tary laws, have of late years carefully
fostered it. This is Japan, where Gre
nation establishments, under govern
ment control, are to be found in all the
chief cities. In Toxic, the principal place
| of cremation is situated at Shen-jO, a
! suburb reached through long lines of
busy streets. 1t was fete day IN the
neighbOrhoOd, and at the time Of my visit
we approached it through a dense crowd
of holiday makers. The shops
were brightly lit. Jinrickshas
abOunded, most of them hold
ing two, and one at least four, persons,
two being babies. On these occasions the
Japan infant obtains a change Ofview and
position. For the most part it peers out
| upon the world round the side of its moth
er's or sisters head. But it being physi-
cally impossible for woman to sit in a
| jinricksha with the everlasting baby at
her back, it is, on this occasion only,
Slowed round to the front. Many of the
| tea-houses in this quarter were brilliantly
| Illuminated with scores of lanterns. One
which our guide said was a "goose house,"
had over hundred, a tall pOlerunning up
from before it hanging out a score. 1t
| appears that the Japanese is rapidly de-
YelOpng carniVOrOuS tastes. AS the home
culinary department is not yet equal to
| cooking joints, the-luXurlOus japanese of
| the lower middle class goes out to beef
| house or a goose and duck house, and
feeds on the unfamiliar Wand.
After an hours drive through a lane of
busy life we came to the silent house,
where the dead awaited the last service
of the living. 1t stands a little apart
from the main rOad-a building of a single
story, with an innOcent-lOOkIng tall Chin
ney, and might be connected with pot
terry or a small iron foundry. The bust
ness is always conducted privately, and
there are few in Toxic, except those who
are professionally engaged, who have
witnessed the process. But arrange
ments made by the OmnipOtent foreign
minister opened the doors and secured a
respectful welcome for us. Wewere first
received in the house of the manager,
where tea was served In priceless pOrce-
lain cups of Kutani ware. The furnace,
If so imposing name may be used for a
process so simple, stood few PAGES from
the house. On entering it there was moth
ing to be seen but what appeared to be
two butter-tubs resting upon a few fagots
of wood. There were several cavities
about two inches deep and a foot long in
the stone floor, and these were filled with
shavings. According to municipal law,
no burning is to be done before $3.50 in the
| evening. 1t still wanted ten minutes to
that time. but in the circumstances the
manager thought he would be safe in an
ticipating the hour, and the shayings
were fired.
One of the men, kneeling before the
growing flame, famed it with a piece of
wood. 1t caught the dry fagots, greedily
licked the sides Of the tub, rose high in
the air, and then, with horrible thud,
the head of the barrel burst Outwards.
Quick as thought the man seized large
piece of wood, lying by in readiness, and
hid from sight whatever may have pro-
truded. 1t is the boast of the skilIful
crematOr that under his supervision the
| contents of the barrel are never exposed
to view. A heavy mating of wet straw
is laid over the length of the barrel before
the fire is ignited. As the barrel is burned
away this falls in and covers the body.
In three hours the work is done. Every
particle of flesh is burned away, and there
remains only the skeleton. The bones
and the teeth the relatives collect and
give them sepulture.
There are three classes of cremation at
this establishment. In the first class
each body is burned separately, a charge
being made or yen, equal to % shillings
in our money. In the second class the
charge is only 10 shillings, the difference
being that two or more, according to the
briskness of trade, are burned at the same
time. The third class pay 6 shillings 6
pence, the semblance of a coffin provided
by the tub being dispensed with. 1t will
be seen that, as compared with the most
moderate scale OF ordinary burial charges,
! cremation is cheap. As far as could
gather, it is this which recommends itself
to the class of Japanese, generally the
least wealthy, who avail themselves of the
resources at the establishment of Shen-jo
and kindred Institutions.