Dead find new resting place in Japan: the sideboard
By Jonathan Standing
TOKYO (Reuters) - It's said the dead never really leave. In some Japanese homes, they literally don't.
Ornaments made from the ashes of the deceased mixed with crystals or artificial stone are appearing on a growing number of sideboards as an alternative to costly traditional rituals and the expense of maintaining tombs often hundreds of miles away.
"People have questioned the need to pay huge sums for funeral rituals," he said.
For 156,000 yen -- about a tenth of the cost of a grave -- the bereaved can choose to have a portion of their late loved one made into a two-inch-high pyramid in blue, green or a choice of pastel shades.
Pendants -- leaf-shaped, circular or oval and available in nine colours and cheaper at 131,000 yen -- will keep the deceased literally close to the heart. If money's no object, try a ring where the remains are mixed with a manmade diamond.
That was on the mind of Michiko Omori, 59, looking at the pendants as a way of remembering her husband who had died in a snorkelling accident a few days before.
Cremation is required by law in Japan, and the ashes are buried in cemeteries. Japanese tradition demands that family members visit tombs on designated holidays and pay for services on certain anniversaries of the death.
But Nozawa, whose company's main business is making corporate videos, says he doesn't care if the remembrance venture makes no money. For him, it's more personal.
"There are people in Japan who don't want a tomb. I don't," he said, gesturing towards one of his company's postcard-sized ceramic and ashes memorial ornaments -- which had his own name inscribed above the dates 1955-2034.
"I hate dark, slimy, damp places." ===>>>
I heard they hired the guy that JR West had to let go 
