Graveyard Photo Contest Winner

Graveyards are losing their image – eerie and needing courage to enter.

When people have money, and the Japanese have money, they have to find ways to spend it.

And when people have time, and the new retiring baby boomers in Japan have time, they have to find ways to spend it.

The result – dressing up gravestones.

The action – a photo contest of the results.

The winner of the 13th New Design Grave Photo Contest featured a gravestone with the character for sky and three stars.

However, the best new design was a heart shaped stone….meaning…well, nothing, other than the person had money to burn on their loved one.

When my Japanese father-in-law died we were

encouraged to give more money to the priest to buy a better 'everlasting' name so jii-chan could enjoy the hereafter more…but no mention was made of springing for a more costly eternal resting place.

I can thing of ways to waste money and time…but on graves and taking pictures of them is not one of them.

Do you think this is a waste of money?