Aoyama Reien For Site (Mar.2024) in Word
Serious Stones in Aoyama Reien, Tokyo
Aoyama Cemetery in central Tokyo from the Mori Building, Roppongi.
Aoyama Reien, or Blue Mountain Cemetery is in central Tokyo. “Reien” means “spiritual garden”. It is full of huge monuments to remember the dead, markers of tombs containing urns of ashes. Some of the headstones are small and carved, others are real rocks and seriously huge, monumental even.
A headstone is self-explanatory, it goes at the head. I suppose it would be a footstone if one revered the feet. Headstones in Aoyama Reien have no heads though, there’s nobody there … no body … there. Almost 100% of the dead in Japan are cremated. So everything in here is a commemoration of an urn of ashes. There are ashes at the base of the headstone. It should be noted though that the ashes have been carefully placed in the urn, bones and ash from the feet first up to the head. When I was a gravedigger, we were careful not to walk on the graves, knowing that there were real remains underneath. Here it’s no problem walking on the ground in front of a stone. Desecration or disrespect would be walking on the actual stones, or climbing them.
Bigger “stones” now surround the cemetery, looking down on the smaller stones looking up at their distant lookalikes or wannabe real stones.
These are possibly wannabe stones overseeing the graveyard, or I should say “headstone yard”.
What’s it like up there? Down there?
This egg-like stone is made of marble / granite …. ? No idea who would want a stone like this, the only one of its kind, a real standout. It is especially strange when we consider the reserved nature of Japanese people, marked by a general desire to conform to the group, not to differentiate or be annoyingly individual. And look at the glass marker in the background! Perhaps a reflection of the deceased’s life or work, he was possibly a glazier?
The cone warns walkers of this toppled stone. I hope anyone approaching from the other direction will be all right. I wonder how it happened, doubt if it was less than solid construction, not in Japan. Could have been one of Tokyo’s frequent earthquakes? I don’t think it’s meant to be like this, much too individual and taking up public space. And I am surely glad it’s not this stone!
Now, here’s the ultimate in individuality, perhaps Japanese people trying to show if they can’t change and be a bit flamboyant in life, they can surely express themselves in death – no more worrying about what others think. I imagine this is a photo of the deceased couple, but the family must have had to wait to do this, they couldn’t both have demised together … unless … OK, let’s not go there, too lurid and over-imaginative. It’s not only Japan where such could easily be a possibility, I recall going to a double funeral in New Zealand, a public farewell, two boxes. I guess not much call for a double coffin. I wonder if they commingle loved ones’ ashes. Together in life, together in death!
The weather’s better down here! In the background the Ritz-Carlton Hotel almost lost in a pre-typhoon mist.
It’s sunnier out here … up here.
Rooms with views to die for?
Ancient and modern stones!
Serious stones here, they make me wonder how on earth they arrived – perhaps
dropped by helicopter but they look too ancient. Just materialised? Anything can happen in a headstone yard.
Ohm-y, thank you!
“Whatever their religion’s got, I want it!”
Foreign Section in Aoyama Cemetery
No, not the governor of Tokyo laid to rest here. He just unveiled the plaque to commemorate all the foreigners who played leading roles in the modernisation of Japan in the 19th and 20th centuries.
This is Captain Brinkley’s headstone. He lived for 40 years in Japan in the 19th century becoming foreign adviser to the new Meiji government. I hope that the lean to the right was intentional, a nod to his nearest and dearest.
The cost of a plot the size of these (and below) would make most in here turn in their graves if there was anyone buried to turn.
A grave sweeper … quite happy actually. He told me it was a part-time job and really enjoyed it. I told him I had dug real graves. He said, “Shinjiraranai!”, incredible! Not something that’s happened much in Aoyama Cemetery!
A whisky lover for sure! Where else would a bottle of good whisky, or any whisky, last like this? Surely only in Japan, where people show respect for however someone wishes to commemorate their loved ones. In Scotland it would be gone in a day!
A real orchid and real wine! The painting on the stone is of lilies, the reflection at the right is a huge apartment block.
That’s the Ritz-Carlton Hotel to the right, don’t know what the hotel is on top of this stone.
Columbariums for humans and pets
I doubt very much if I could ever afford a headstone and a bit of ground here to commemorate my time in Tokyo after I’ve gone. If I could ever be accepted it would be either in the Foreigners’ Section or here in the columbarium. Look at the small number with kanji inscribed, surely there would be a space for my ashes there. Not that I’m too keen on cremation as an ex-gravedigger, when we always regarded the local crematoriums as the competition.
Columbarium, not exactly full of urns!
And this one is for pets, mainly dogs, a few cats.
Notes:
Mausoleum: a building preserving human remains
Niche: a recessed space in a wall or columbarium used to place urns of created remains in.
Columbarium: a) Nesting boxes for pigeons b) Place for storage of cinerary urns.
I spotted this Rolls Royce before I saw the “yakuza”, or gangster and his helper, both in immaculate suits, tending a grave stone, refreshing it, rushing about cleaning the incense receptacles and the vases. Not the yakuza, his mate was doing the work. It was tricky trying not to be seen, something I really deemed wise to avoid.
This stone monument possibly to a builder in real life? Or maybe the family couldn’t decide on one stone? There’s a normal stone at the left.
Headstone for a horse? No big animal buried here, just the horse’s ashes.
You don’t drink wine?
This is nice Australian white wine? Maybe too young, I mean you, not the wine. No worries, mate, I’ll have a swig for you.
There is a God, praise be!
Is that a still life there? Could be still life in a cemetery.
No lights among the real headstones. Oyasumi nasai. “Do not go gentle into that good night”. Good night!
Goodbye and good luck from Aoyama Cemetery, central Tokyo – not a bad place to end up, leastways your ashes.
Head Stones!