Remembering the departed in Japan (part 2)

Writing about remembering loved ones in Japan reminded me of visiting my husband's family's ancestral graves close to the city of Kamakura and being struck by a special place in the same cemetery to commemorate pets. As you can see from the photo I took the flowers and offerings were fresh, just like on many of the human gravesites.

I did a bit of research and learned that having a space for pets in graveyards is pretty common in Japan, and that in some graveyards there are even gravestones for owners and their pets in a single slot.

I also learned that some temples (like the Kannouji temple in Setagaya Ward in Tokyo) have an indoor ossuary for pets, where owners can offer their favorite toys and snacks after attending a service led by the local priest.

In Japan, it seems like even after they pass away, pets can be treated like the deeply loved family members that they are. Although I have to say that when I worked at a local pet hospital here in the Bay Area I learned about the many pet cremation and burial or commemoration sites, and of course many owners who had to let their pet go 'over the rainbow' were also inconsolable.

Still, having pets share their owner's gravesite is not common although I found out it's allowed in New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Florida. California introduced a bill to allow it but I think this hasn't been enacted yet.

Where I grew up in the Belgian countryside it was more usual to bury your small pets in your garden while larger pets would be collected by the local veterinary office. I would have loved to have a service to thank and commemorate some of the pets I grew up with.

Commemorating the pets you often shared more than a decade of your life with, who loved you unconditionally and were there for every win and loss in your life, is another way to be mindful of some of the love and care we sometimes take for granted. I'm so grateful for their love. Still thinking of you Bastos, Tinta, and most recently Musubi.

How do you remember your beloved pets?