Imagine paying to lie in a coffin. Not to rehearse anything: to meditate.
In Japan, it’s possible. At a Tokyo salon called Meiso Kukan Kanoke-in, in the Takadanobaba neighborhood, customers choose between an open or closed lid and spend about 30 minutes inside. According to VICE, some sessions include music or visuals, while others rely only on silence and stillness. The practice is known as “coffin-lying” and, according to Bridges Magazine, became popular thanks to a funeral home in Futtsu, in Chiba Prefecture.
The most striking thing is the design. Grave Tokyo, the company associated with the salon, makes colorful and “cute” coffins that break with traditional funeral aesthetics. Behind it is designer Mikako Fuse, who says she wants to soften people’s relationship with death. According to a statement cited by VICE, her idea is this: “Before choosing a death that cannot be reversed, I want them to experience a death that can be reversed”. Advocates of the trend also hope it will help reduce youth suicide in Japan, a rate AOL describes as the highest in more than four decades, although this is a hope, not a proven effect. Would you lie down in one?
