Communal Grave of Kochibara and Akahigibara Clans

Okinawa, the southernmost archipelagic prefecture of Japan, is home to many unique cultures utterly unknown in the mainland. Munchū is one such concept of genealogy, referring to communities of shared paternal ancestry. Though it is no longer as significant as it once was, it would often help establish a bond between strangers when they turn out to be distantly related. 

Traditionally, a munchū community consists of hundreds of people at once and funds local festivals, scholarships and funerals. When they pass away, its members are buried together in a mausoleum that their shared fund maintains.

The largest example of such munchū gravesite can be found in the city of Itoman, belonging to the Kōchi clan as well as the Akahigi clan. Here, some 5,000 people have rested in peace for the past 300 years, all in a massive mausoleum that sprawls over a whole acre.

The complex is composed of one main mausoleum called toshi and four sub-graves called shiruhirashi. The deceased are first buried in the latter for three years, and then their remains are washed after which they are relocated to the main mausoleum.