Title: Shinde inai mono
Description: A large extended family gathers for the funeral of the patriarch, who has died at the age of 85. The action centers on a wake held the night before at a country meetinghouse near the old mans home. The dead mans wife Shinobu pre-deceased him by 14 years. Otherwise, the narrator divides his attention more or less evenly among the mans survivors, from the 60-year-old eldest son Haruhisa down to the three-year-old great-grandson Shūto, illumining each individuals views on family, and on life and death.
Subjects: Japanese fiction, Fiction, Families, Bereavement, Funeral rites and ceremonies
Places: Japan