墓地をめぐる今日の法律問題 (昭和五十八年九月十二日 提出)

抄録

The purpose of this article is to describe some of the legal problems arising from the use of burial ground in Japan today. Under the Japanese traditional custom of ancestor worship the consecrated ground where one's ancestors are buried and their spirits are believed to be abiding is highly respected. A kind of customary easement has been recognized for hundreds of years for the users of burial ground. Today, however, there arises often a conflict between such customary easement and statutory property right (or ownership).