 Japanese funerals are highly ritualized affairs which are generally — though not always — conducted in accordance with Buddhist rites . In preparation for the funeral , the body is washed and the orifices are blocked with cotton or gauze . The encoffining ritual ( called nōkan ) , as depicted in Departures , is rarely performed , and even then only in rural areas . This ceremony is not standardized , but generally involves professional morticians ( <unk> , nōkanshi ) ritually preparing the body , dressing the dead in white , and sometimes applying make @-@ up . The body is then put on dry ice in a casket , along with personal possessions and items necessary for the trip to the afterlife . 
