This study reports the findings from my fieldwork on the gannenkisai ceremony and the coffin and grave tradition in the Hamahigajima and Henzajima Islands, Okinawa. It examines the prearranged grave and a traditional Ryukyu song (ryuka).
The ryuka “Habitation in the material world is transient, the grave is the eternal dwelling place” is sung to celebrate the completion of grave construction. It notes that the grave is the eternal dwelling place, which demonstrates the great emphasis placed on graves in Okinawa.
The fieldwork strongly suggests that the Okinawan grave culture is deeply related to the doctrine of filial piety in China, in which the practice of preparing a coffin during oneʼs lifetime is followed. Miyagi (1982) wrote that the filial piety doctrine places greater value on prearrangement of graves than building a house. Ueda (2007) argued that the fengshui theory found an analogy between the downward flow of water and parent-child energy flow, claiming this was the philosophical basis of filial piety.
Gannenkisai is a ceremony that occurs only every 12 years to pray for coffins. As a portable shrine (placed on a coffin), gan is used to carry a deceased from his home to the graveyard. Literally, gan is a vehicle connecting the coffin with the grave.
This study discusses the Okinawan tradition of prearranged graves, the relation between filial piety and graves, the great emphasis on graves, and the symbolic function of gan as a link between grave and coffin, with reference to previous studies.
