CHIBA, Oct 14 (News On Japan) - A growing number of people are choosing to forgo traditional family graves, and a new type of burial site designed in the shape of ancient Japanese burial mounds has become so popular that more than 6,000 people are now on the waiting list.
In the city of Noda, Chiba Prefecture, a cemetery surrounded by greenery features a 17.5-meter-long kofun-style burial mound built atop a stone embankment. According to Marumo, head of the company behind the project, more than 600 plots have already been sold since the site opened in March. Most buyers are in their 50s to 70s, drawn by the simplicity and affordability of the system.
The mound serves as a communal grave, with multiple unrelated people buried together. It is treated as a perpetual resting place, with the cemetery responsible for its long-term maintenance and a partner shrine continuing rituals indefinitely — a feature Marumo says is a key selling point. The price starts from 183,000 yen, and unlike conventional graves, which can cost between 5,000 and 20,000 yen annually to maintain, there are no ongoing management fees.
Kawamura, 69, who purchased a space after his wife passed away last year, said the concept appealed to him. "I can be buried with my wife, and there’s no annual maintenance fee to worry about," he said.
The project has also given rise to an unusual new tradition: “kofun reunions” for people who have purchased plots in the same burial mound while they are still alive. Kawamura, who attended one such gathering, recalled meeting a fellow future neighbor whose husband had recently passed away. "We joked about becoming neighbors. It’s interesting to be able to share a smile while we’re still alive," he said.
Marumo said the idea behind the reunions is to enrich people’s lives by building connections before death. "Until now, people never considered meeting those they would share a grave with while still alive. We want to support those connections and make life more meaningful," he said.
With its blend of affordability, perpetual care, and community-building, the kofun-style communal grave is emerging as a new kind of memorial space in modern Japan.
Source: FNN
