Cremation and burial customs
I was wondering about burial customs in Japan, mostly during the samurai period.
On the surface I've read that both cremation and regular burials were practiced, but I haven't heard anything about the motivation for either cremating or burial. Was/is cremation a strictly a Buddist or Shintoist feature or was it used interchangebly? I believe Tokugawa Ieyasu was cremated and he was affiliated with the Jodo Shinshu (buddist) as I recall.
Over here in the mostly Christian West, for instance, for a very long time we weren't allowed to cremate bodies due to the whole ressurection of the body doctrine.
Is there a religous doctrine in either Shintoism or Buddism that preferrs/demands cremation over burials?
Fredrik Hall
"To study and not think is a waste. To think and not study is dangerous." /Confucius