The Latin phrase memento mori means “remember death,” serving as a warning not to forget that even those living happily now will eventually face death. This phrase, particularly directed at Christians in late medieval Europe who indulged in hedonistic lifestyles amidst an inescapable sense of impending doom—such as the plague—emphasized the futility of worldly pleasures and luxuries, prompting reflection on the afterlife.

As the saying goes, “Man is mortal.” We humans will inevitably face death someday. Yet the age-old question of what happens after death remains unanswered. This is likely because not a single person who has journeyed to the afterlife has ever returned.

Consequently, faced with death and its unknown answers, people have created diverse ways of life (= cultures). This class focuses on the death culture of modern Japanese people to explore the concept of “death.”

※This course consists of the 1st session (February 2017), 2nd session (October 2017), 3rd session (October 2018), 4th session (August 2019), July 2020 (5th session), October 2022 (6th session), October 2023 (7th session), and October 2024 (8th session). Some assignments have been modified.