The Buddhist priest lit incense at a small altar just as members of his order have done for centuries. As he chanted sutras, Yutaka Kai prayed for his wife, who died last year. Kai, 68, set aside his family's devout Buddhism when he left his hometown years ago to work in a tire factory . That meant he did not have a local temple to turn to for the occasion that's considered a milestone for Japanese Buddhists.
Cue the internet. J In modern Japan, a B Buddhist priest can a now be found just a few clicks away -on Amazon.com. Junko Soko, the priest at Mrs Kai's memorial, is part of a controversial business that is disrupting traditional funeral arrangements. Their venture has been condemned by many Buddhist leaders. Many sects in Japan complained after Amazon began offering obosan-bin (priest delivery) on its Japanese site last year. But priests say that it is helping to preserve Buddhist traditions by making them accessible to millions who have become estranged from the religion.
However, much of the reaction has been positive, for familiar reasons: It offers convenience and low, predictable prices. Obosan-bin was originally the brainchild of Minrevi, a for-profit internet start-up.Before signing on with Amazon, it built a network of 400 priests and took bookings on its own website. It said it keeps about 30%of the fees it collects; the rest goes to the priest.
Now, the company has added another 100 priests to meet demand generated by the Amazon partnership, said Jumpei Masano, a spokesman. It expects bookings to increase by 20% this year, to around 12,000.
"A lot of people don't have any connection with a temple, so they don't know where to turn or what to do when they have to ar range a funeral," Masano said. "We saw there was a need."
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