Showing posts with label virtual mourning. Show all posts
Showing posts with label virtual mourning. Show all posts

Sunday, August 15, 2010

Bosan: The Grave Honoring App for iPhone

death ritual Japanese Ceremony

Japanese culture has traditionally placed a great deal of importance on visiting and honoring the graves of loved ones and family members.  In today’s busy global world, though, it is often difficult to find the time, or to be in the right place to physically meet this obligation.  




In a previous post, I shared news of an innovative cemetery in Japan where the cremated remains of loved ones were brought to central shrines like an elaborate vending machine, in response to family members swiping magnetic cards.  Now, thanks to iPhone apps, one no longer even needs to be on the same continent to honor and visit a loved one.



Bosan, which in Japanese means grave honoring, is a newly released iPhone app from KnowledgEx which allows you to register information about and carry photos of a loved one’s grave, as well as photos of the deceased.   Whenever you want and where ever you are in your busy schedule, you can virtually honor the grave of your loved one with a prayer, along with offerings of incense, flowers, food and water.  This app also gives you a choice of audio tracks, such as the rustle of leaves, the chirp of birds or crickets, bells or water flowing, to accompany this devotion.



Registration forms and selection menus are all in Japanese

Although the app is available all over the world, so far the only instructions are in Japanese language.  Where there is an opportunity, an app will soon follow, so look out for an English Language version soon, or ask a Japanese friend to help you with Bosan, as I have! 




For more information (in Japanese) about the app, visit iTunes
My thanks to Photographer Mayu Kanamori for brining this app to my attention!
Please visit my post on her project, 'In Repose'







Friday, December 5, 2008

World Mourns on Facebook

Our world has gotten even smaller.

Great interest in the tragic passings of strangers is nothing new. However, when much of the world is separated by only a few degrees of friendship on social networking sites like Facebook, we become aware in a more personal sense of the loss of someone half the world away. My hope is that in focusing online, we don't lose touch or forget to support the grieving person who lives across the street.


SINGAPORE: The tragic and untimely death in Mumbai of Singaporean hostage Lo Hwei Yen
They may be strangers from all walks of life, but the death of the 28—year—old Singaporean lawyer has brought the nation together in a common outpouring of sympathy.
Sympathies have been pouring in from Internet users as well.
A memorial group page on social networking site Facebook has seen its number of members swell into the hundreds since it was set up early Saturday morning.
Many blogs and forum entries saw users describing their shock, grief and even anger at the news.http://sg.news.yahoo.com/cna/20081129/tap-087-singaporeans-mourn-tragic-death-231650b.html


Some 200 people followed the hearse carrying Ms Lo Hwei Yen's coffin as it left for Mandai Crematorium after a service at St Teresa's Church. Thousands more mourn her online.

http://www.straitstimes.com/Breaking+News/Singapore/Story/STIStory_310625.html

In respose to the family's request, mourners at the wake wear 'fabulous black' in memory of the stylish Ms. Lo Hweih Yen



Profile Photo from Ms. Lo Hweih Yen's Memorial Facebook Page

As of Friday there were 11,062 members of this open group and 1,319 wall posts/ condolences. Here is a quote from the page:

"May her passing, as the first Singaporean to have lost her life to terrorism, serve as a reminder to everyone, Singaporeans and non-Singaporeans alike, to treasure life and the loved ones around us.Yen lived her life with passion and she treasured her friends & family dearly. Let us cherish the zest for life and through us, she lives on. Yen, thank you for your smiles and for touching our lives. We miss you dearly."
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Funeral service faces a crisis of relevance, and I am passionate about keeping the best traditions of service alive while adapting to the changing needs of families. Feel free to contact me with questions, or to share your thoughts on funeral service, ritual, and memorialization. dailyundertaker@gmail.com

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