Birthday party

Okay, so I said I wasn't going to write for a few days, but I just thought I'd better let you know that we didn't completely ignore Hannah on her birthday.... In between school and a pre-funeral mourning service we managed to have some roll your own sushi and a cake.





This photo was taken at the mourning service for my husband's great uncle tonight. In a strange way I find the way Japanese people deal with death and the funerals etc. very interesting. It is a much more involved process than we generally have in New Zealand and I feel that it really pays respect to the deceased. The deceased is brought back to their house as soon after their death as possible (if they died in hospital etc.) - often within hours of dying. They are then placed on their own futon for the close family to mourn and then placed in a coffin which is surrounded by hundreds of flowers etc. The coffin stays in the house right until cremation. There are many more interesting stages invovled, but I really need to get ready for our Kyoto trip tomorrow now. Please let me know if you are interested in hearing more details about the process here in Japan and I will try to write another entry later.
Okay - this really is it until Monday or Tuesday.....