Summary

At the funeral, Kazu saw a bird outside and wondered if it was the spirit of Kōichi. He listened to Setsuko discuss the Pure Land with the priest. She was not entirely consoled by this conversation and wondered why Kōichi died young and if he was in any pain at the end of his life. The priest explained that different people have different ideas about what it means to have a “good death” (72) and it is pointless to contemplate such things. Every morning after Kōichi's death, Kazu woke feeling bereft and numb. On the fifth day, they cremated Kōichi. The priest spoke a prayer and gave Kōichi a Buddhist name, something that is ordinarily done while a person is still living. At the cremation ceremony, Kazu was unable to speak to the attendees, so his father did so...