There was so much activity on Shiraishi Island, it was almost seismic. Elderly women grouped outside their houses whispering. The Buddhist priest was so busy, he wasn't answering his cell phone. Ferries kept bringing more people dressed in black.
What was happening? Funerals. Of course, funerals are common on our small island, which is more like a retirement community. Last year, my neighborhood was hit so hard by funerals, we almost didn't have enough people to pull the "mikoshi" at the Fall Festival. We had to recruit gaijin!
But one thing I can say is that people sure do pick strange times to die. The current activity all started a few days ago when the first announcement came over the island's public address system: "Mrs. Yamamoto's funeral will be tomorrow morning at 9 a.m. and Mrs. Nishihara's will be in the afternoon at 1 p.m." Two "oba-chans," 94 and 77 years old, had died on the same day! A bit of "oba-chan isshin-denshin?"