Buddhist monks on demand: Amazon Japan allows customers to order rituals online at far cheaper rates than temples expect to be paid
Monk delivery services have emerged as many of Japan’s 75,000 temples are losing offerings and business within their communities, which traditionally have been the main source of financial support.
In Japan, where communal ties to local Buddhist temples are fading, families have in recent years been able to go online to find a Buddhist monk to perform funerals and other rituals.
But when Amazon Japan allowed a provider to offer “Obo-san bin,” or “Mr Monk Delivery,” on its website, it shone a spotlight on the emerging trend and prompted a major Buddhist organisation to criticise the marketer of commercialising religion.
A basic plan for monk, transportation and a donation offered by the Tokyo-based provider, Minrevi, one of dozens of emerging budget companies, costs 35,000 yen (HK$2,266). Three other options are available for more money. The monks would typically go to a home, funeral hall or a grave to perform the ceremony.
“Such a thing is allowed in no other country in the world. In this regard, we must say we are disappointed by an attitude towards religion by Amazon,” Akisato Saito, director of the Japan Buddhist Association, said.
Such a thing is allowed in no other country in the world... we are disappointed by an attitude towards religion by Amazon
Many Japanese, however, welcome the service as a consumer-friendly approach to Buddhist rituals, whose cost is often perceived as murky and overpriced. Buddhist-style memorial services offered by temples comparable to the “monk delivery” could cost as much as 100,000 yen. Funerals are even more expensive and can cost well over 1 million yen.
Monk delivery services have emerged as many of Japan’s 75,000 temples are losing offerings and business within their communities, which traditionally have been the main source of financial support. That is threatening the survival of many temples in rural areas.
Minrevi spokesman Jumpei Masano said the service seemed to attract those who wanted to have Buddhist funerals but were uneasy about pricing and wanted to keep away from temples.
“Many people don’t have ties with temples and they have no idea where and how to arrange Buddhist rituals, while monks are increasingly concerned about their declining temple membership,” Masano said. “We can cater to the needs on both sides and hopefully we can bring them together.”
Many people don’t have ties with temples and they have no idea where and how to arrange Buddhist rituals
Some monks acknowledge that the growing business highlights the Buddhist temples’ complacency and their failure to reach out and adapt to people’s needs.
“We do understand there are criticisms of us as well and we take them seriously. And we must ask ourselves if and how we can change,” said Hanyu Kakubo, public relations secretary for the Japan Buddhist Association.
When Yutaka Uematsu’s 17-year-old son Kakeru died just over a month ago after battling cancer, he searched on the internet for a funeral service provider.
Uematsu didn’t consider asking his father’s family temple as he had heard the prices charged for a funeral were “outrageous.”
So he and his wife went to the Minrevi website and picked a package at a price less than half or even cheaper than an average, conventional service.
“Honestly, the cost was my biggest concern,” Uematsu said. “I liked its price system that was simple and clear.”
I’m hoping that a service like this, a brainchild of the internet age, could make Buddhist temples a more approachable place
Amazon declined to comment, saying it was only renting the space to Minrevi to promote the service.
Minrevi, whose orders for the monk delivery service have tripled over the past five years, said internet-based inquiries and phone calls surged after it placed the service on Amazon. More surprisingly, some 100 monks came forward to register for the delivery service.
Kaichi Watanabe, the monk sent to a memorial ceremony for the Uematsu family recently, said he had been looking at ways to perform rituals to earn a living and share Buddha’s teachings.
His elder brother had succeeded the temple founded by their grandfather, also a monk, in Fukushima prefecture, so Watanabe had to go elsewhere. A year ago, he found Minrevi and signed up.
“Today, nobody comes to temples asking us to perform funerals for their parents,” Watanabe said. “I’m hoping that a service like this, a brainchild of the internet age, could make Buddhist temples a more approachable place for everyone.”
