On the funeral day, the family will gather again and mourn.
There are several rituals that will happen.
First is the pronouncement of the dead to the dead and the survived family.
The second is farewell to the dead by the head of the family and if there is a honorable guest, the guest speaks first towards the coffin (to the portrait).
Then there is the farewell by the family by putting in the flowers and things that could be burnt in the coffin.
Then after closing, carrying the coffin to the hearse.
The funeral starts when the monk walks in. He will chant the sutra again like the previous night at the wake. Burning of incent will start after the monk lights it on fire. The survived family will start the burning after the monk pronounce dead and the undertaker MC will announce it’s the time.
After everybody is done, the monk will leave the room at the parlor. This is because it’s the end of the funeral. BUT it’s not the end of service yet.
Now, it’s the second half of the funeral. The inning 2.
MC of the funeral will ask the head of the family to make a speech. If there is an honorable guest, the guest will make the speech and then the head of the family. The guest usually makes the speech of how enjoyable it was and how much people will miss him/her. The head of the family will make a speech of thanking people for coming to the funeral.
At this time, the difference between the wake and the funeral after each guest burning the incent is that no one leaves the room. The guest will stay in the room at the funeral and wait until the whole ceremony is over.
After the speech, the MC will read the telex that has come in and announce who has sent a heart warming messages, just to honor that person.
The flowering will start and the monk will walk in again and start the prayers.
This is the ritual of last viewing and saying farewell by the family, relatives, and the close friends. This is called the “farewell ritual” — “KOKUBETSU SHIKI”
Flowers will be filled in the coffin to decorate inside and say goodbye to the deceased. Any combustible and not explodable that’s not on the “No No list” distributed by the crematory are placed inside the coffin.
The coffin lid will be closed and a golden (painted) nail would shut tight the coffin.
Men will carry the coffin. Even though there might be handles in some coffins, they are just an ornament. It’s not made to withstand carrying the weight. About 6 to 8 men will carry the coffin to the hearse by hand.
A lady holding the flower (woman in the family) leads the departure, followed by the person holding the picture, then “Ihai” — the mortuary tablet, held by the head of the family. Then the coffin will follow to the hearse.
The hearse will honk at the departure (not always — depends on the neighborhood) and leave for the crematory.
The next episode will be on at the crematory.
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