Though it hasn't been scientifically proven, there appears to be a definite link between summer heat and summer funerals. In my neighborhood, the onset of o-neppa (heat wave), followed by those negurushii yoru (restless nights) sets off a string of o-soshiki (funerals) at the local temple. Almost always, these are for the elderly, the generation of seventy-fives and over whose children and relatives gather at the kokubetsushiki to tell each other that at least the demise was a o-daioujyou ('the great departure' to the beyond following a life has been lived to the very end).
Just the other day, Saito-san's mother died in her sleep at the grand old age of 91. Saito-san described her passing as o-medetai (felicitous).
Japanese summers are tinged with a shadow of darkness and from a very early age we learn that natsuyasumi (summer vacation time) is not simply about fun and games in the sun.
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