Money for the afterlife, “Uchikabi” production springs into peak production as the Okinawan shimi season kicks off
Photograph: Employees making “uchikabi,” an invaluable part of the tomb sweeping season. April 3, at Showa Seishi in Uruma (photograph taken by Naoya Oshiro)
April 6, 2020 Ryukyu Shimpo
A vital part of shimi in Okinawa, the tomb sweeping festival season, as well as the Bon festival, the peak season for manufacturing “uchikabi,” money for the afterlife, has arrived. Showa Seishi (Uruma), Okinawa’s only manufacturer of uchikabi, was bustling April 3 as its employees were skillfully assembling bundles of the paper money.
A specialized machine imprints small “coin eyes” into the paper, and then cuts it in a relaxed rhythm. In March alone, 110,000 bundles (11 million sheets) were made, and the factory produces about 270,000 sheets per day. These bundles are shipped to stores around Okinawa.
“We are the mint bureau for our ancestors,” says executive sales officer Yasukuni Yakabi, 67, smiling. With the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, there are some who are trying to call off shimi this year. “Even if you do not go to visit the grave, you can still burn the uchikabi at the alter in your house. Even that will please your ancestors,” he said.
(English translation by T&CT and Sam Grieb)
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