“I just want to hug Takiko one more time,”<\/strong> actor Nishimura Ko offered his eulogy in front of Mizunoe\u2019s portrait, while Mizunoe herself, seated in a wicker chair beside him, burst into laughter. A year prior, Mizunoe attended a memorial concert for the musician Imaizumi Takao, where she was inspired by producer Ei Rokusuke to organize her own living funeral.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The day after the ceremony, Mizunoe told her friends, “You should die once too; the morning after death is so beautiful!”<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Born in 1915 in Hokkaido, Mizunoe joined the famed Shochiku Revue at the tender age of 13. Her tall, striking appearance and short-cropped hair made her famous as a “dansou reijin” (beautiful woman in male attire), captivating audiences and becoming a top idol in 1930s Japan. In 1939, she traveled to the United States as a cultural ambassador, and by the mid-1950s, she was actively involved in film production.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mizunoe\u2019s living funeral was remarkably serene. Veteran actor Morishige Hisaya presided over the event as the funeral committee chairman. The ceremony featured music by Chopin, Gregorian chants, and Russian religious hymns. Prayers were recited from various religious traditions, including Jodo, Soto, Nichiren Buddhism, and the Quran. In this tranquil setting, participants delivered their unique eulogies one by one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Next came the procession, where Mizunoe herself rose and exited the hall. When she reappeared, she had changed her attire, and the ceremony seamlessly transitioned into a celebration of her 78th birthday\u2014a “resurrection festival,” complete with lively music from a live band. The event concluded with Mizunoe bowing four times in gratitude.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Four years later, Nishimura Ko, who longed to hug Mizunoe once more at her living funeral, passed away. In her later years, Mizunoe, who had never married, led a reclusive life in a wheelchair following a horseback riding accident. Morishige Hisaya, who officiated her living funeral, died at the age of 96, just six days before Mizunoe’s own passing in 2009. Mizunoe\u2019s final funeral was a quiet, private affair with only close family in attendance\u2014no public farewell was held. Thankfully, due to her living funeral, no one missed the chance to give each other a final embrace.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The opposite of life is not death, but being forgotten. Hosting a funeral for oneself while still alive is a way to bid a heartfelt farewell to those around you and to oneself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Photo source: Pinterest, \u6771\u4eac\u97f3\u697d\u5927\u5b66\u30ea\u30dd\u30b8\u30c8\u30ea<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Japan’s First Woman to Host Her Own Living Funeral On February 19, 1993, 500 people gathered at the Tokyu Hotel in Tokyo to attend a living funeral for the esteemed entertainer Mizunoe Takiko, who was about to celebrate her 78th birthday the following day. As the “deceased,” Mizunoe began the ceremony with a speech: “To […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":10438,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10,39],"tags":[1373,1377,1376],"class_list":{"0":"post-10451","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-art-and-culture","8":"category-culture","9":"tag-japan","10":"tag-living-funeral","11":"tag-mizunoe-takiko"},"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nWho Was Mizunoe Takiko?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.bbold.asia\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/image-5.jpeg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.bbold.asia\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/image-4-1024x768.jpeg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nThe Living Funeral Ceremony<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Bidding Farewell to Loved Ones and Oneself<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.bbold.asia\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/image-3.jpeg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n