Victoria Stasichin
Professor Hicks
April 9th, 2015
Honors 3702
Film: Departures
Due: April 14th, 2015
The 2008 film Departures, directed by Yōjirō Takita is a Japanese drama that
takes place mainly in Yamagata, Japan where the main character Daigo Kobayashi
played by Masahiro Motoki and his wife Mika played by Ryōko Hirosue reside. Daigo
and Mika are forced to move to Yamagata after Daigo loses his job as a cellist in Tokyo
when his orchestra is dissolved. Upon looking for a job, Daigo comes across an
advertisement for a job with the description of “assisting departures,” and decides to
interview for the position. Much to Daigo’s surprise, the position has nothing to do with
travel but actually entails preparing dead bodies for cremation; a process called
encoffination. Desperate for money, Daigo accepts the job offer and begins working
alongside his boss Saski, played by Tsutomu Yamazaki. Despite the disrespect and
prejudice that Daigo experiences due to the opinions of society in regard to working with
the dead, Daigo is eventually able to realize and exemplify to others the beauty and honor
that comes with encoffination. It is through this line of work and the guidance of his boss
Saski that Daigo learns about the importance of family and interpersonal connections;
and how largely an individual can impact the lives around them.
The process of encoffination is a foreign one to us in the United States, largely
due to the fact that there is a limited amount of information regarding the Japanese
funeral process online. Almost all of the information found online about the process of
encoffination is written on blogs or from unreliable sources but the very few that were
found accurately explain what was depicted in the film Departures, directed by Yōjirō
Takita. According to the article “Japan’s Funerals Deep-Rooted Mix of Ritual” by Hiroko
Nakata, Japanese funerals are a combination of Buddhist, Shinto, and Christian traditions,
ranging case by case. According to the book “Development Through Life: A
Psychosocial Approach” by Barbara Newman and Philip Newman “In Japan, Buddhists
allow 3 days to pass before the body is burned. On the first day, a priest comes to the
home and recites a prayer called a sutra. On the second day, the family members burn
incense sticks before the family altar. On the third day, the body is burned at a funeral
hall, and the ashes are brought back to the house and then taken to the cemetery.” Lastly,
the book “Palliative Care Nursing: Quality Care to the End of Life, Third Edition”
discusses the preparation of the dead body and how the Japanese bathe, shave, and dress
the deceased in white. The book also discusses how the deceased normally wears a
“ceremonial hat or triangular piece of white paper tied to the forehead” along with white
socks and white gloves. This seems to generally be the case in the movie Departures,
although I don’t believe a white hat or anything of that nature was presented.
Personally, I believe the process of encoffination is a beautiful one. It seems to be
a time that is 100% dedicated to honoring and grieving the deceased, which I think is
very necessary. I think it allows for the family to truly express their emotions and come
to terms with the death of their loved one before parting ways forever. In the United
States, I feel that death is something that we sort of try to hide, and that funerals are
something that we try to “get over with” but I feel that the way we deal with death can be
emotionally damaging or hindering because we aren’t aloud to truly feel and deal with
the death. We are expected to more or less put on a show during the wake or funeral and
cope/grieve on our own time, compared to the Japanese who embrace the dead through
their beautiful and dignified rituals. Based on the social standards set in the United States
currently, I do not think that the process of encoffination would ever be accepted, I think
it would cause a great deal of controversy, which would ultimately make the process of
death even less about the deceased when that’s what the sole focus should be on.
The theme of the ‘abandoned child’ is seen throughout the film Departures in
addition to many other Japanese films. This theme appears once when we learn that
Daigo’s father abandoned him and his mother at a very young age and never once
attempted to reach out to him. The theme of the ‘abandoned child’ is seen again when it
is revealed that Daigo’s coworker Yuriko Kamimura played by Kimiko Yo abandoned
her child when he was young in order to be with the man she loved, who was not the
child’s father. It is during this scene that the audience can feel the tension between Daigo
and his coworker as each of them is on opposite sides of the spectrum when it comes to
abandonment; we see the abandoned and the abandoner, face-to-face. Yuriko reveals that
she couldn’t possibly ever return to her child, which makes the audience ask, why not?
Perhaps it’s for personal reasons or perhaps it has to do with the character traits of the
Japanese. Common characteristics of the Japanese culture include pride, honor and
shame. It is likely that Yuriko cannot reach out to her child because she is so ashamed of
her decision and feels that there’s no resolution to this situation.
Personally, I really enjoyed this film and would say it was probably a close
second to the film Wadjda, directed by Haifaa Al Mansour. I’ve always been extremely
fascinated with death and the numerous traditions that are seen through various cultures
around the world. I can honestly say that I do not like the way that death is dealt with
here in the United States and although encoffination is not a job that I would particularly
want, I think the idea of it is lovely. Throughout the 2008 film Departures, directed by
Yōjirō Takita, the main character Daigo Kobayashi experiences tremendous personal
growth through preparing the dead. I find it fascinating how Daigo’s job is viewed as
socially unacceptable, meanwhile everyone request’s the services when dealing with their
deceased; a situation that seems a bit hypocritical. Departures, is highly informational
and allows great insight into the Japanese culture in regard to death; this film is a must
see for morbid or open-minded individuals.
Works Cited
Matzo, Marianne L., and Deborah W. Sherman. "Palliative Care Nursing." Google
Books. Springer Publishing Company, 17 Dec. 2009. Web. 09 Apr. 2015.
Nakata, Hiroko. "Japan's Funerals Deep-Rooted Mix of Ritual." The Japan Times. The
Japan Times, 27 July 2009. Web. 09 Apr. 2015.
Newman, Barbara, & Philip Newman. "Development Through Life: A Psychosocial
Approach." Google Books. Cengage Learning, 18 Feb. 2011. Web. 09 Apr.
2015.