The Centre for Natural Burial

The Yomiuri Shimbun, Associated Press

With natural burial grounds becoming increasingly popular among people wanting to “return to nature” after they die, a new ecologically friendly woodland burial ground was opened near Tokyo this autumn.

Situated in a quiet, hilly area in Sodegaura, Chiba Prefecture, about a one-hour drive from central Tokyo, the Soto sect Shinkoji temple opened the burial ground after clearing about 10,000 square meters of land in its compound.

Located about 80 meters above sea level, the area, which is covered with lawns and planted with saplings of cherry and camphor trees, has a tranquil atmosphere.

“This burial ground enabled us to meet the needs of those wishing to be laid to rest in nature,” temple priest Kazuyuki Okamoto said. “At the same time, we can pass on satoyama [forests close to human settlements] with a balanced ecosystem to future generations.”

Ashes can be buried on the slopes of the hills, with people able to choose a 4.5-square-meter plot in which they or their loved ones’ ashes can be buried.

A tombstone, measuring 18 centimeters by 18 centimeters, and five centimeters thick, can be inscribed with the owner’s name and placed in the plot.

The temple tends the grave for 33 years after the deceased is buried.

The cost is 700,000 yen per person, and plots can accommodate couples or even an entire family. When two or more persons are buried in a plot, 400,000 yen is charged for each additional person buried there. The temple plans to make 140 plots available.

The temple and those signing a contract to be buried in the grounds will plant trees every year in the cemetery. About 100 species of trees, mainly those indigenous to the region, such as the yamazakura cherry tree, the mitsubatsutsuji azalea and the shirakashi oak, will be planted in the grounds. The temple plans to tend to the trees indefinitely.

A number of natural burial options have become available in recent years, including two popular “cherry burial grounds” in Tokyo, where ashes are buried under cherry trees.

Ending Center, a Tokyo-based citizens group involved with burial and funeral issues, opened its second “cherry burial ground,” called kodachi, or thicket, in the grounds of the Machida Izumi Joen cemetery in Machida, Tokyo, in October.

The site includes three varieties of cherry trees–fujizakura, satozakura and yamazakura–and 350 burial plots are located around the trees.

Three types of burial plots are available, with those for individuals costing 400,000 yen, those for couples 700,000 yen and those for families 1 million yen. Since it started accepting reservations on Oct. 21, 78 plots have been reserved.

According to the center, there are at least 15 natural burial grounds across the country, including in Gunma, Nagano, Kanagawa, Kyoto and Yamaguchi prefectures, with more expected to be added.

Midori Kotani, chief researcher at the Dai-ichi Life Research Institute who wrote a book on funerals and graves, believes the concept of natural burials reflects Japanese views of life and death.

“Natural burial grounds have proved popular because they meet the Japanese desire to return to nature after death, and the cost is often quite reasonable, too,” Kotani said.

And unlike scattering ashes in the sea, the natural burials allow surviving family members the security of knowing they can “meet with” their loved ones even after they have died.