Funeral Services

People

After Clearing 3,000 Rooms of People Who Died Alone, Why Does She Turn Them Into Miniatures? Estate Cleaner Miyu Kojima

At 17, a Japanese estate cleaner nearly lost her father to a “lonely death.” Later she walked into thousands of rooms where no one had said goodbye, then shrank them, one by one, and set them before strangers.
People

Many Still Want to Hear the Dead Speak. Why Are Japan’s Blind Mediums Disappearing? Take Nakamura, the Last Blind Itako

She lost her sight at three, became an apprentice at thirteen, and spent her whole life speaking for the dead. People still come looking for her. What has vanished is the world that made her a medium.
Inside the Industry

Why Did a Tenant Who Never Paid Rent Late Die in a Pile of Trash? Lonely Deaths Through the Eyes of Japan’s Special Cleaners

For 34 years, a tenant paid his rent on time every month. After he died, 500 bags of trash were cleared from his room. The special cleaner who did the job says a room lays a person’s whole life bare.
People

Do People Who Face Death Every Day Know More About Living? Japanese Encoffiner Akiko Omori and Her 4,000 Farewells

She has sent off more than 4,000 people. The one she remembers most is a wife who smiled from beginning to end beside her husband’s body.

After Clearing 3,000 Rooms of People Who Died Alone, Why Does She Turn Them Into Miniatures? Estate Cleaner Miyu Kojima