Paper short abstract:

Life after death is portrayed in writings and by those I've interviewed as a realm apart from the Japanese social and material world: an escape from that world. But ano yo ["that world"] continually interpenetrates with kono yo ["this world']: this world is materially linked to the world to come.

Paper long abstract:

There is, at present, a great upsurge of interest in life after death in Japan, with bookstores carrying dozens or hundreds of volumes telling readers what may happen to them after they die, in interpretations ranging from traditional Buddhism to contemporary science fiction. Many of these books, whether whimsical or serious, present in their depictions a realm distinctly apart from this world—death and its aftermath are realms where, as one book has it, "you are free from the constraints of this world," in all its material and social restrictions. Indeed, ano yo ["that world"], however it may be envisioned, is thought of by many Japanese as being unconstrained by the limitations of the physical and social limitations of kono yo ["this world'], as I have found from two decades of interviewing Japanese as to their senses of what, if anything, happens to them after they die. For the half or so of Japanese who claim to believe in life after death, "that world" is often envisioned as representing freedom from the constraining social shackles of this world. Nonetheless, "that world" is interpenetrated with "this world" in many ways. This is certainly true in Buddhist temples; it is also true around the family butsudan [altar], where departed family members are given offerings of food and regular greetings, in an intrusion of "that world," however much its reality may be denied by some Japanese ("it's only custom, that's why we do it"). More than this, thoughts of "that world" or its absence enter into daily life in countless ways, from the money many pay to the New or Old Religions they may belong to, money at least indirectly linked to their adherence to these religions' post-life doctrines, to the contributions that some who believe in reincarnation make to charities, to the consumption patterns of those Japanese who believe in nothing after death: "I only live once, so I should enjoy my life buying the things I really want to have." The vagaries of "that world" help shape the materiality of "this world" in Japan today.