With modernity comes some loss of belief in the ability to commune with one's ancestors:
“This is an era when children ignore their parents and forget about the dead,” said Mr. Kurokawa, who runs an inn near the temple that caters to visitors of the spiritual mediums.
Very interesting article.
ReplyDelete'Forgetting about the dead' is one of the saddest sentiments I can imagine. If we don't remember them, who will?
At the very least Japan still has a national holiday period -- "obon" -- where people go back to their hometowns to remember their ancestors. As long as that stays part of the Japanese calendar, a certain reverence for the past will be maintained.