Hello! I am writing something set in Sengoku-era Japan, say between 1540 and 1570ish. I'm wondering what death/funeral rites would look like in a rural village, especially if the priest was an adherent of Jodo Shinshu Buddhism (would this be accurate, by the way? It's my understanding that Jodo Shinshu was a common faith among lower class Japanese at that time). Like play by play, what would a funeral have looked like/do you have any resources I could check out about that? Also, I read that in medieval Japanese funerals, certain valued objects of the deceased are burned. Is this more like sweets or consumables, or would this mean clothes, or say an instrument that the deceased valued, etc.? (Read about this in Louis Frederic's book, Daily Life in the Time of the Samurai, 1185-1603)
Also a somewhat related question. When and where would the nembutsu (namu amida butsu) be said in daily life, outside of explicit meditation? Like in the way that people might say "Oh my God" in reaction to specific situations, what kinds of situations or feelings would someone say the nembutsu in during daily life?
I know this is super niche, but if anyone could point me in the right direction, that would be amazing!
I'm wondering what death/funeral rites would look like in a rural village, especially if the priest was an adherent of Jodo Shinshu Buddhism
Its highly probable that the priest would be of the Soto Zen sect just do to the number of Soto Zen parish temples at the time but regardless of the Buddhist sect the goal of the ritual would be to perform a posthumous monk ordination for the deceased.
(would this be accurate, by the way? It's my understanding that Jodo Shinshu was a common faith among lower class Japanese at that time).
This is sort of hard to answer because lay Buddhist participation was all over the map during this time. Statistically you were most likely to live in a village with a Soto Zen priest. Your relationship to buddhism would be to visit the temple to pray (to both buddhist and shinto gods) for worldly benefits and to hire a priest for a funeral or memorial services. Depending on the village, the temple might be a type of community gathering point as well. Its also possible to your local priest might be specialized in making good luck talismans or medicine that you could purchase.
You might however have a Shin buddhist priest in your area and if you did and you were a believer, chances are you would be very devout and attend regular prayer meetings. They might be mix in other devotional aspects from other sects like Shingon.
Like play by play, what would a funeral have looked like
The main goal of the funeral would be to ordain the deceased so that they could have a fortuitous rebirth in the next life.
From "Sōtō Zen in Medieval Japan":
First the Soto monks consecrated the area next to the deceased as a small chapel (dojo) and set up a chair and a table with flowers, incense burners, lanterns, and a vessel for sanctified water to be used for ritual anointment and ablution of the corpse. All rituals were performed just as if the precepts were being administered to a living person, except for the verses chanted. For a posthumous ordination, the precept administrator and his assistant chanted a special verse that proclaims the nonexistence of an individual self. For each precept, the administrator asked the deceased three times if he or she intended to observe the Buddhist teaching. At the end of the ceremony, the deceased was presented with a Buddhist bowl, a Buddhist robe, and a kechimyaku (lineage chart). On this chart, a new Buddhist name was used instead of the deceased’s secular name. From this point, the funeral rites for the deceased were performed as if he or she had been an actual monk or nun. The corpse’s head was shaved, and the body was washed and dressed in the deceased’s new Buddhist robe. When placing the corpse in the coffin, the monks also placed the kechimyaku alongside the body. As in mass ordination ceremonies conducted for the living, the precept lineage chart symbolized a direct, tangible link to the Buddha.
Not mentioned there but there would be lit incense and deep sounding bells would be rung at various times during the sutra chanting. Also the anointment of sanctified water would be done with a fern or pine needles.
After cremation, the ashes would be likely interned in the temple's grounds in a cemetery type part of the gardens.
Also, I read that in medieval Japanese funerals, certain valued objects of the deceased are burned. Is this more like sweets or consumables, or would this mean clothes, or say an instrument that the deceased valued, etc.?
Maybe this happens but I am not aware of it.
. When and where would the nembutsu (namu amida butsu) be said in daily life, outside of explicit meditation? Like in the way that people might say "Oh my God" in reaction to specific situations, what kinds of situations or feelings would someone say the nembutsu in during daily life?
A very devout shin practitioner would try and internal chant the nembutsu as often as they could remember as they went about their daily life.
Sources:
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