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Zoe Fox
HONR Social Film
Julie Hicks
07 April 2015
Departures
In the 2008 film, Departures, directed by Yojiro Takita in Okuribito the Japanese culture
is brought to attention. We gain insight on the lifestyle of a both a musician and an encoffiner in
this type of culture. Unlike most American Traditions, we see that this culture emphasizes the
importance of recognizing someones death and properly experiencing closure between the death
and the family. The loss of one job foreshadows the lifestyle that the main character, Daigo, will
be diving into. Only by fate does he end up in this profession that he otherwise would have
avoided at all costs.
Just like the main character, Daigo, I assumed from the title of the film that the film was
going to be focused on something involving traveling, not death. When the film first showed the
practice of encoffinating it actually made me really uncomfortable. I guess that because of our
culture here in America, this idea of being personal, touching, and preparing a dead body in front
of the family was strange to me. As the film played out and I witnessed more of the actual
services of encoffination, I began to understand the meaning of the ceremony. Not only did it
bring peace to the departed body, but it provided a sense of closure to the family of the loved
one. This was an intimate ceremony that these loved ones had the privilege of experiencing as
their last moments with that person. This is a ceremony that I believe many Americans would
benefit from practicing in. The immediate family and loved ones would have that opportunity to

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say their final goodbyes in a personal setting rather than at a funeral in front of many other
people.
As I grew to accept the ideas of this encoffination ceremony, I began to think about how
well this type of ceremony would go over here in America. I believe that we have been brought
up so deeply in ways that teach us to rid of a dead body as quickly and painlessly as possible.
Weve never put major attention on having that intimate moment with death. We almost treat the
dead as if now they are useless and we need to get them out of the way as soon as possible. Our
funerals here do still celebrate the person and allow us to have that closure but we dont
experience that closeness with the body. Its almost as if we have someone else, such as an
undertaker, do what we see as the dirty work by handling the dead body and preparing it for
burial. I feel that most Americans would have that same initial response that I experienced when
watching the movie. Our culture is so unlike this encoffinating experience and I dont feel as
though Americans would pick up on this tradition anytime soon. We respect death and want to
honor that step in life but almost from a distance. We are also very hard headed and dont like to
admit that we might being doing something wrong. Because of this, I believe Americans will not
be willing to change their lifelong traditions to a new custom such as encoffinating. In my own
personal experience I am extremely grossed out by dead bodies. Being so close to one and being
in contact with it disgusts me and gives me the creeps. Now I understand that my viewpoint on
this concept is a lot different than many other Americans, but it shows how our culture can have
such a grand impact on our lives.
Throughout the film we experience many different aspects of the Japanese culture. Two
of these main aspects are the food and the public bath. Food plays an important role in this film
by acting almost as an act of celebration. Every time something good happens with one of the

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characters they celebrated with some sort of food. Takita also used food to show different parts
of the Japanese culture and how they celebrate different holidays. In one scene in the movie it is
Christmas time and Daigo, Mr. Sasaki, and Ms. Eumura are all partaking in eating a bucket of
fried chicken. In Japan, most families dont celebrate the holiday of Christmas yet a bucket of
Christmas Chicken is always used to celebrate the big day thanks to a marketing campaign in
1974 for Kentucky for Christmas (Smithsonian). Food is also used many times in the film to
show the appreciation for life and that life goes on.
One of the biggest cultural aspects that caught me off guard in the movie was the public
bath. In our American culture we obviously have no experience with this concept especially in
todays time. In Japan these public baths originated because most homes were not equipped with
a bath tub. They were used as a place for people to wash themselves, soak in a tub and socialize
with neighbors (japan-guide). Including this concept in the film allowed the audience to see an
insight into different cultural practices that make Japan the country that it is and sets its culture
apart from ones like our own. This public bath was a childhood memory for Daigo that once he
was older was used to cleanse himself of his the smells associated with his job and to also be a
release for his emotions. Near the end of the film we learn that the reason behind this public bath
being so special to Daigo was because he always came there to cry out his feelings towards his
dad because he didnt want to disappoint his mother. This public bath works both to give an
insight into the Japanese culture and to dually work as an outlet for the characters in the film.
This film was so unlike any other film that we have watched this semester, and that is
exactly why I loved it. I have never been the emotional person whether reading books or
watching films. Even though Im not an outwardly emotional person, this movie still spoke to me
internally in so many ways. I made a huge connection with the main character and his separation

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from his father. My story is a little different because I have this separation due to a divorce rather
than just my dad running away. But just like the main character I have completely shut my dad
out of the picture because of decisions and actions that he made. The ending scene with the main
character encoffinating his dad made me really think about my own situation and how the
resentment and long years could have an effect on my life. I also really enjoyed the connection
represented by the stones throughout the film. It begins as a subtle figure that is special to Daigo.
We eventually figure out that these stones represented a story of how you feel about someone
and he carries one around as a memory of his father. At the end of the film we learn that Daigos
father held onto his stone as his last dying possession. And I was moved when Daigo gives the
stone now to his unborn baby as a symbol of his love. Overall I thought the movie was produced
very well. It really opened up my eyes to the differences between cultures and how we treat
death. Sometimes we become so wrapped up in our own culture that we dismiss the possibility of
other cultures doing anything differently.

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Works Cited
"Job Description of an Undertaker." Work. Web. 12 Apr. 2015.
"Public Baths." In Japan. Web. 13 Apr. 2015.
"Why Japan Is Obsessed with Kentucky Fried Chicken on Christmas." Smithsonian. Web. 13
Apr. 2015.