I must admit, while I’ve occasionally had passing thoughts about how I want my own funeral to unfold, a whole festival dedicated to planning out its very details seems rather...morbid. And yet, the Japanese seem to enjoy it.

Every year during September or December, the Shukatsu Festival takes place in Japan. The word shukatsu translates to ‘preparing for one’s end’ and the festival-goers certainly do this! Trying out coffins, sampling makeup products, hairstyles and nail art, personalising burial attire and taking funeral portraits — this is just a small fraction of what goes on.

Source: Yoshikazu Tsuno/AFP via Getty Images

Now, you must be thinking...nani?! But don’t worry, I’ve got you. Just hold on tight as I bring you on this somewhat macabre but inarguably fascinating journey.

Putting the Fun in Funeral

Death is oftentimes a huge affair. The people you have crossed paths with in your lifetime all show up one last time together to celebrate your life and mourn over the loss of you. It is no wonder that the Japanese plan for it, much like they would for any other life-changing event, like weddings.

During the Shukatsu Festival, participants not only arrange the physical or logistical aspects of their funeral. You also get to listen to Buddhist lessons on psychological preparation, learn what to do with your possessions, as well as write out your last will and instructions to your friends and family.

That way, besides knowing exactly how you will look on the day of your funeral (down to the minute details!), you are also adequately prepared for what happens after death.

Source: Tomohiro Ohsumi for Bloomberg News

The Shukatsu Festival is a popular national event, attracting over 5000 visitors a year. Over 50 different organisations from the funeral industry show up, ranging from coffin businesses to headstone companies, all competing to be the leading funeral brand in the country.

It is an exciting occasion — the Japanese gather to learn more about death and to get ready for their own passing, which makes sense given everyone’s inevitable demise, but seems strange because it is an uncomfortable topic we often avoid.

Dying is Big Business in Japan

Given Japan’s plunging birth rate and ageing population, it seems only natural that funeral parlors are cashing in on this demographic trend by encouraging people to plan their perfect goodbye (and simultaneously ease the burden on their grieving loved ones).

But surprisingly, not only the elderly are loving this! People in their 20s and 30s are also hopping in on this trend, supplementing their try-before-you-die-experiences with investments in “ending notes” (エンディングノート) and visits to cafes with coffin experiences. 

For instance, a cafe in Tokyo called Blue Ocean Cafe serves up coffee and snacks — in addition to services such as compressing your ashes into diamond jewellery. 

They also draw about a dozen or so people to their bimonthly coffin events designed to encourage people to contemplate death. Participants first ruminate over a series of questions, converse with one another and read their individual eulogies, before taking turns to lie in a casket while professional monks chant prayers for them.

Source: Kotomise

“Ending notes” are also a concern for the Japanese, where nonlegal matters such as after-death messages and instructions to loved ones are accounted for. 

In 2010, Kokuyo Co. started selling their 64-page Living & Ending Notebook, a personal organiser for those who feel that their demise, however distant, is in sight. You can specify your funeral wishes, fill in a family tree, list down your friends, record what to do with your financial assets and other necessary information in the event of your death.

In the iconic Japanese way, Living & Ending is punctuated with cutesy cartoons and cheerful fonts, helping to soften the depressing message that the end is near.

It seems like Japan has done it again — found a niche market and made a business out of it! 

Yet, all these experiences have got me wondering about my own funeral and hoping that everything goes as I wish, rather than leave it in the hands of people who may not know me best. After all, my sister still thinks that I work at a Korean company after months of having this job... Imagine what a mess my funeral would be if she were to handle it.

Now I’m actually hoping that the Shukatsu Festival comes to Singapore soon! I’d very much like to test out how comfortable my coffin is going to be so that I won’t be subjected to eternal suffering in a cramped box buried 6 feet underground…

Please tell me I’m not alone.