Hometown Stories — Season 1, Episode 7: Honoring the Dead: The Bone Washing Ritual of Yoronjima
Documentary • 50 min • 15 seasons, 300 episodes
Episode synopsis
Yoronjima in Kagoshima Prefecture is a southern island with a population of 5,600 surrounded by beautiful coral reef and white sand beaches. In the island's unusual ritual called 'Senkotsu', the skeletal remains of family members are dug up from three to five years after burial, cleaned and then returned to their graves. The program introduces the small island's traditional form of family bonding by following members of the Takecrapa family as they carry out the ritual and also includes the history of the island's funerary practices.
About Hometown Stories
Stories about people, stories about life. Intimate portraits of people from around Japan, each leading diverse lives while enriching lives of others.