A growing number of Buddhist temples in areas devastated by the Great East Japan Earthquake are waiving fees for giving "kaimyo," or afterlife names, to those who died in the disaster.
A growing number of Buddhist temples in areas devastated by the Great East Japan Earthquake are waiving fees for giving "kaimyo," or afterlife names, to those who died in the disaster.
However, some temples are complaining about the spread of the custom, fearing a decrease in their incomes.
Kaimyo is given to a dead person as recognition that he or she has become a disciple of Buddha.
After the March 11 disaster, the chief priest of a temple of the Soto School of Buddhism in Ishinomaki, Miyagi Prefecture, realized his temple could earn 30 million yen ($385,000) by giving kaimyo--which cost 300,000 yen--to 100 people who died in the disaster.
His temple had been destroyed by the tsunami and many of his parishioners died, but the priest decided to give kaimyo at no charge.
"There had been much criticism against kaimyo fees," the priest said. "Although I need a considerable amount of money to reconstruct my temple, I have no other alternatives in this situation (except for making the fee free of charge)."
Chief priest Taishu Kitamura, 63, who supervises 29 Soto School temples in the central part of Ishinomaki and neighboring Onagawa, told their chief priests, "In regards to kaimyo fees, you must not do what could invite criticism from your parishioners."
"We cannot take kaimyo fees from people who are worrying about their present lives," Kitamura said.
The chief priest of a temple in Minami-Sanriku, Miyagi Prefecture, was charging kaimyo fees ranging from 200,000 yen to 1 million yen. After the disaster, however, he is refusing to accept the payments from bereaved families, telling them, "Please use the money for your lives. You can pay it (kaimyo fees) if you want to do so after your lives become stable."
According to a chief priest in Ishinomaki, before the March 11 disaster, temples in the city were generally receiving kaimyo fees ranging from 200,000 yen to 500,000 yen per dead person at funerals in addition to the fees for reading sutras. In some cases, they were receiving 1 million yen for giving high-ranked kaimyo.
Many of the chief priests also suffered personal losses or damages to their temples in the disaster. Therefore, they need money for repairing their temples or for other purposes. In spite of that, however, many of them are refusing to accept kaimyo fees. But behind the refusal exists another reason.
Due to the disaster, the temples are having huge numbers of funerals. Consequently, they can earn certain amounts from reading sutras or from offerings made in subsequent memorial services for the dead. So they can forgo kaimyo fees.
At present, bereaved families must wait for two months to hold funerals. There have even been some cases in which funeral companies refuse requests for funerals because they are too busy.
An increasing number of temples are also holding group funerals. In one such funeral held in Kichijoji temple in Otsuchi, Iwate Prefecture, on April 29, chief priest Eigo Takahashi gave kaimyo to 90 of the dead and 78 of the missing.
Originally, kaimyo could be given to people when they were still alive. Therefore, the missing can also receive the names. Takahashi asked families if they wanted kaimyo for their missing family members. He gave kaimyo to all of the dead and missing free of charge.
However, some chief priests are puzzled by the spreading custom of refusing kaimyo fees.
The chief priest of a temple of the Jodo Shinshu School of Buddhism in Kesennuma, Miyagi Prefecture, said, "It is unreasonable to give special treatment to disaster victims." The priest is accepting kaimyo fees from bereaved families depending on their financial situations.
"Fees for giving kaimyo or for reading sutras at funerals are precious sources of income," the priest said. "So, we face difficulties if parishioners think that it is a matter of course for temples to refrain from receiving kaimyo fees."
Since around May, when things finally began to settle down following the March 11 disaster, he has been holding funerals almost every day except for "Tomobiki" days when people traditionally refrain from holding funerals.
"In these two months, I have earned amounts that are equivalent to what I obtained in the past three or four years," he said.
Koyo Kumagai, 59, chief priest of Fumonji temple of Soto School in Rikuzentakata, also Iwate Prefecture, is concerned that holding group funerals free of charge may make the services lose their "substance."
"It is a matter of course to lower kaimyo fees in affected areas," he said. "But temples are supported by offerings from parishioners. If the move of giving kaimyo free of charge spreads, some temples could not survive. It is important to establish trusts with parishioners and convey the meanings of kaimyo and funerals to them properly."
(This article was written by Akihiro Yamada and Masakazu Higashino.)