The miyagata hearse is richly decorated to look like Buddhist temples and Shinto shrines. This one was made from a Toyota Century and the craftsmanship is amazing.
Hearses were brought to Japan in 1910 and people lavishly decorated them to be more traditional in their funeral processions. People started making these elaborate hearses with shrine carvings from about 1980. In 1990, some Crematoriums started banning miyagata because of complaints by neighbors that they were too flashy and tacky. Their use has decreased. Less than 500 are in use in Japan today as funeral homes opt for traditional hearses and vans.
Although use of miyagata is declining in Japan, it is actually expanding in other countries Yoshimitsu Araki, president of funeral home in Yachimata City, visited Mongolia in 2003 and was asked by a high priest if he could have one after hearing about it from a Mongolian Sumo Wrestler who competed in Japan. Araki gave one to a funeral home run by the Mongolian government and it was constantly booked. Araki donated another miyagata to Mongolia in 2006 for the 800th anniversary of the Mongol Empire. And he gave one to Laos in 2015. The hearses are also used as mobile temples in those countries.
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