Recently covered by ConnectingDirector’s writer Diana Ionescu, Japan’s housing crisis is nothing new–however, most may not make the connection to the housing crisis that’s not just for the living.
In Japan, a fifth of the population is over 70, and the death rate is increasing by nearly 20, 000 each year. This places a high demand for mortuaries, funeral homes, cemeteries, etc. But without the required space, new and creative solutions are coming to Japan. These include “corpse hotels” that seek to reduce the pressures that threaten to overwhelm existing mortuaries and accommodate traditional mourning in modern settings.
Lessening real estate and growing death rates make for a challenging combination. And although the death rate will continue to rise for several decades as the post-war boomer population ages, construction of new mortuaries hasn’t kept up with demand.
This causes families who traditionally take the deceased home for a night before cremation to wait several days for an available appointment at the mortuary. Most often, the only mortuary available to care for their deceased loved one is located in a city far from their own homes. In metropolises like Tokyo and Yokohama, wait times can stretch up to a week, with families forced to find lodging in some of the world’s most expensive cities.
Introducing: The Itai Hoteru
To serve this population of intermittent mourners, a new kind of hotel has surfaced. Known as “itai hoteru,” these establishments fill the need of these “funeral refugees” for short-term lodging for both the dead and their mourners. The hotels are equipped with temperature-controlled rooms for bodies, altars, and, in some cases, adjacent rooms for family members. Unlike traditional morgues, which use refrigerated compartments and have strict visiting hours, the itai hoteru, or “corpse hotels,” offer a more dignified and flexible way for family members to visit, mourn, and wait out the extended mortuary queues.
However, even with an ordinary exterior, some communities are not welcoming of these new hotels. Some residents who live near them dislike having the hotels next door, citing discomfort and health concerns. However, the itai hoteru, like most mortuaries, poses no threat to the health or sanitation of the adjacent community.
Another Solution
Japan’s aging population has also led to a shortage of young adults in the workforce, including the historically slow-to-adapt funeral industry. High-tech innovations play a role here too: Lastel, one of the country’s most popular funerary hotels, offers an automated viewing service that uses a robotic retrieval system to give mourners 24/7 access and reduce pressure on staff.
Lastel also features an area appointed like a typical Japanese home, where the family can dine together accompanied by the body of their loved one, visible behind glass in an air-conditioned chamber.
A Crowded Future, Even in America
As urbanization and new economic structures continue to reshape the way people live, travel, and interact, we will all have to find new ways to celebrate the important milestones of life and death. Real estate in our densely concentrated cities continues to grow in value, causing shortages even for the living, let alone the dead. Smaller, more dispersed families and the loosening of religious and social traditions mean that funerals, like other rituals, are streamlined and simplified. Techy columbaria and corpse hotels are at the forefront of a growing trend towards efficiency and automation in an unlikely industry.
Source Name: ConnectingDirectors