Invisible Population

The Place of the Dead in East-Asian Megacities

Häftad, Engelska, 2013

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The issue of population ageing in East-Asia has been extensively studied but we remain in the dark as to the fate of the region’s growing dead population, particularly in the largest metropolitan areas where there is bitter competition for space among the various human activities. From private cemetery developers to undertakers, not to mention a vast array of sub-contractors, death is discreetly helping a multitude of industry players to prosper. The result has been the transformation of funeral services into a fully-fledged industry that is rapidly expanding and adapting to the needs of urban societies with their extreme lack of space. In the specific context of East-Asian megacities, funeral rituals and practices are evolving rapidly in an attempt to conform to spatial constraints and address emerging challenges such as urban sustainability and growing social inequalities. Research dealing with death in East-Asia has so far focused on symbolic and religious issues, ignoring the social, economic and spatial dimensions that have become crucial in a context of rapid urbanization. This book aims to remedy this situation while highlighting for the first time the shared characteristics of funerary issues across Japan, Korea and China.

Produktinformation

Utgivningsdatum2013-12-05
Mått153 x 228 x 18 mm
Vikt381 g
FormatHäftad
SpråkEngelska
Antal sidor250
FörlagBloomsbury Publishing Plc
ISBN9780739190906

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Natacha Aveline-Dubach is research director at the CNRS, specializing in urban land issues and currently posted to the French Research on Contemporary China in Hong Kong. She graduated from INALCO in Japanese studies, received a PhD in urban sciences from EHESS (which was awarded the Shibusawa-Claudel Prize) and the Habilitation from Lyon 2 University in 2005. From 2006 to 2010, she served as director of the Northeast Asia CNRS regional office in Tokyo. She has extensively published on Japanese urban land issues.

Introduction, Natacha Aveline-DubachChapter 1: Creative Destruction—The Shattering of the Family Grave System in Japan, Natacha Aveline-DubachChapter 2: The Experience of Death in Japan’s Urban Societies, Katsumi ShimaneChapter 3: Emerging Burial Spaces and Rituals in Urban Japan, Fabienne Duteil-OgataChapter 4: The Revival of the Funeral Industry in Shanghai: A Model for China, Natacha Aveline-DubachChapter 5: Dealing with the Dead: Funerary Rites in Contemporary Shanghai, Maylis BellocqChapter 6: Traditional Funerary Rites Facing Urban Explosion in Guangzhou, Yukihiro KawaguchiChapter 7: Cremation’s Success in Korea: Old Beliefs and Renewed Social Distinctions, Elise PrebinChapter 8: Funerary Sites in Seoul: A History Marked by Colonial Experience, Ryohei TakamuraChapter 9: Overview of Korea’s Funeral Industry, Shi-Dug KimConclusion

Invisible Population: The Place of the Dead in East Asian Megacities is an excellent and insightful study of death-related practices and industries in China, Korea, and Japan. Based on fieldwork in these three very different Asian countries, the authors explore changes in funeral customs, innovations in the forms and locations of graves, and the treatment of the corpse. The research is well integrated and clearly presented. The book can be read by both scholars and students of East Asia.