Tommy Tokugawa 1972 - 2009

I have to confess. I WASN'T invited to Tommy's funeral. So, from a discreet distance, I observed it, for journalistic purposes.

Holy mackerel though, I never knew there were so many wise guys in Yokohama. There must have been four or five hundred. Or maybe they're just mourners, in black suits? It's hard to tell.

Anyway, apparently, the Tokugawas belong to 'Tendai Shu' which is an ancient brand of Esoteric Buddhism, which was transmitted from China, over a millenia ago, and took root, in the temples, in the mountains, above Kyoto. Later, the Shoguns adopted it. So the funeral follows the Tendai rituals. A priest chants a sutra, the relatives pass the incense around. Also, now that Tommy is dead, he gets a different name. It kind of notifies the spirit of the departed that they are in fact... departed. So if you're in Japan, and everyone suddenly starts calling you by a different name, it could mean you've passed on.

As Tommy was Tendai, the Funeral Ceremony takes place at Hokai Ji, a famous Tendai temple, in Kamakura. What a beautiful place, to spend eternity!

Funeral aside, it would appear that the police are no nearer catching his killer. I shiver when I think that as most Yakuza murder victims are killed by other Yakuza, I'm probably standing near the murderer! Yikes!

I step away from the funeral hall, and take a walk around the temple grounds. For some reason, there are pieces of broken pottery, embedded in the ground, near the stupa...