中江兆民の死と葬儀--最初の「告別式」と生の最終表現としての葬儀

Nakae Chomin is well known for translating Jean Jacques Rousseau's Du contrat social into classical Chinese. He was a scholar of French thought, a statesman, and a businessman in his later years. At the end of his life, Nakae announced that he was dying of cancer. His final works, Ichinen yu han and Zoku Ichinen yu han were presented as posthumous documents, thought they were published while he was still alive. These books were read by many people, and clearly demonstrated his atheistic and materialistic ideas about life and death. His thought attracted a great deal of attention, and there was a great deal of speculation as to whether or not Nakae's actual manner of dying would conform to his stated principles. Nakae's funeral was held as "a farewell ceremony" without religious content. It is known as the first "kokubetu-shik? to have been held in Japan. Despite the protests of those close to him, Nakae insisted that his funeral be held without religious ceremony. Some at the time described his request as selfish. In the Meiji era, with some exceptions, people generally did not accept Nakae's ideas about the funeral ceremony. However, in the 1970s some thinkers, particularly those concerned with medical issues, began to express the opinion that one's funeral is a final expression of one's life. These ideas have become more publically accepted in the last decade.