In this paper I try to describe how
Ie is represented and reproducted in the cemetery. The data were on Bon rites, especially cemetery visiting, mainly collected in a seaside village in 1995. This village society has a mortuary custom called
Ryobosei. In
Ryobosei system, the cemetery consists of two parts situated separately, the tombstone area and the graveyard.
The major characteristics of cemetery visiting in this village can be summarized as these three points. (1) INTEGRATION AND REPRODUCTION OF
IE: Each
Ie has its own cemetery. The tombstone area is in the communal place, which divided for each
Ie. The graveyard is in the property of each
Ie.
Ie members visit the tombstone area and the graveyard,
Ie by
Ie. (2) GIFT PRESENTING TO OTHER
IE: They also visit other
Ies' graveyards which means presenting gifts to other
Ies. This is based on
Ie relationships. (3) REMEMBRANCE OF THE DEAD: The dead is remembered through his or her grave, and visitors regard the graves as the true and important tombs. As long as they remember where the dead was buried, they visit a grave of him or hers, not a tombstone. This is based on their personal and emotional relationships.
The cemetery visiting in this village is a complex of those three. The cemetery, especially the grave is not only the symbol of
Ie, but also that of personal and
Ie relationships. Therefore, the cemetery in this village is the representation of
Ie; not enclosed ones as are usually regarded, but interrelated ones based on their members relationships.
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