Wakki News The weird is fun
With the high cost of funerals these days this might be a good way to keep the cost low.
A Japanese company is now selling a build-your-own funeral kit as a way of helping people keep funeral costs low.
The kit contains everything you need to go six feet under with ease, and costs roughly £256 (shipping costs not included).
Though the kit does have some additional costs, such as ground rental and burial costs, the idea could in theory save grieving relatives thousands.
The company makes it clear that you may need a living person handy to assemble your coffin, and you should not attempt at home burials or cremations.
You also need to have a mortician handy for the embalming, and someone with experience in cosmetic preparation, as being handy with a Naked Palette doesn’t exactly qualify you for that.
According to their website, the kit contains:
-1 wooden coffin
– 1 small metal urn
– 1 silver box (for storing bones left over from cremation)
– Duvet set for the coffin (which includes a head pillow, mattress and comforter duvet)
– 1 DIY funeral handbook
– Furoshiki (wrapping cloths)
Shinohara Norifumi, the CEO of Tsubasa Public Utility Co, who manufacture the kits said: “This manual contains information on how to carry the body, how to lay it down, and when actually cremating, how to make an appointment, how to pay, how to do it at the crematory, those things are explained.”
He demonstrated how everything worked, with the slightly alarming vigour of a student building an IKEA Billy Bookcase.
Gesturing to the large wooden pieces (that appeared to be some sort of plywood) Norifumi explained how the sides of the coffin simply ‘pop up’ to create a sturdy frame.
The person building the coffin then merely needs to slide each of the end panels in place.
There is even the option for an open casket ceremony as the coffin comes with a viewing hatch of sorts, adorned with two small decorative tassles.
Then it is up to the builder to fit the mattress within the base, and a small comforter blanket and head pillow can be placed inside.
The coffin is suitable for a traditional burial and also comes with an optional urn if the deceased has opted for cremation.
Though before you get too excited, the urn strongly resembles a large biscuit tin.
The DIY handbook also contains instructions on ceremonial rites, that can help put the soul of the departed to rest.
The kit is available for purchase from Japan on the Tsubasa Online Store website here.
(Mirror UK)
