Communal Burial Mound

One of the interesting practices at large public cemeteries in Japan is to have a communal burial mound or gravesite, where the ashes of thousands of the deceased are symbolically (if not literally) amassed in one large grave. The one at Tamabochi Cemetery is a 10 meter wide and 4 meter tall, half-spherical mound covered in green grass. In front of the mound is a 4-meter long alter under an awning roof for offering incense to those who have passed. I suspect the reasons for the communal bound mound might be several: 1) some people who die have no relatives or relatives so distant that they do not claim them upon their passing, 2) the cost of an individual family burial plot is very high, so some people cannot afford one, especially if there is only one person to be buried, 3) some people may prefer the anonymity that a communal burial plot or mound can give them. The communal burial mound is located immediately to the left after entering the main Tama Bochi Cemetery entrance, and there are several black stone name plates at the entrance, listing the people buried in the communal grave.