View source for Departures (2008 film)

{{Short description|2008 film}}
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{{Infobox film
| name           = Departures
| image          = Okuribito (2008).jpg{{!}}225px
| alt            = Theatrical release poster
| caption        = Theatrical release poster
| director       = [[Yōjirō Takita]]
| producer       = Yasuhiro Mase<br />Toshiaki Nakazawa
| writer         = [[Kundō Koyama]]
| starring       = {{plainlist|
*[[Masahiro Motoki]]
*[[Ryōko Hirosue]]
*[[Tsutomu Yamazaki]]
}}
| music          = [[Joe Hisaishi]]
| cinematography = Takeshi Hamada
| editing        = Akimasa Kawashima
| studio         = [[Tokyo Broadcasting System]]<br />[[Amuse, Inc.|Amuse Soft Entertainment]]<br />[[Asahi Shimbun]]<br />[[Dentsu]]<br />[[Mainichi Broadcasting System]]<br />Sedic<br />[[Shochiku]]<br />[[Shogakukan-Shueisha Productions|ShoPro]]<br />[[TBS Radio|TBS Radio & Communications]]
| distributor    = [[Shochiku]]
| released       = {{Film date|df=y|2008|08|23|MWFF|2008|09|13|Japan}}
| runtime        = 130 minutes
| country        = Japan
| language       = Japanese
| budget         = 
| gross          = $70 million{{sfn|''Box Office Mojo''}}
}}
{{nihongo|'''''Departures'''''|おくりびと|Okuribito|extra=<!--Please do not remove; this is necessary for an understanding of a pun later in the article-->"one who sends off"|lead=yes}} is a 2008 Japanese [[drama film]] directed by [[Yōjirō Takita]] and starring [[Masahiro Motoki]], [[Ryōko Hirosue]], and [[Tsutomu Yamazaki]]. The film follows a young man who returns to his hometown after a failed career as a cellist and stumbles across work as a ''[[nōkanshi|{{transliteration|ja|nōkanshi}}]]''—a traditional Japanese ritual mortician. He is subjected to prejudice from those around him, including from his wife, because of strong social taboos against people who deal with death. Eventually he repairs these interpersonal connections through the beauty and dignity of his work.

The idea for ''Departures'' arose after Motoki, affected by having seen a funeral ceremony along the [[Ganges]] when travelling in India, read widely on the subject of death and came across ''Coffinman''. He felt that the story would adapt well to film, and ''Departures'' was finished a decade later. Because of Japanese prejudices against those who handle the dead, distributors were reluctant to release it—until a surprise grand prize win at the [[Montreal World Film Festival]] in August 2008. The following month the film opened in Japan, where it went on to win the [[Japan Academy Prize for Picture of the Year|Academy Prize for Picture of the Year]] and become the year's highest-grossing domestic film. This success was topped in 2009, when it became the first Japanese production to win the [[Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film]].{{efn|name=A|Before the category was formed in 1956, three Japanese films received [[Academy Honorary Award|honorary awards]]: ''[[Rashomon]]'' ([[Akira Kurosawa]]; 1951), ''[[Gate of Hell (film)|Gate of Hell]]'' ([[Teinosuke Kinugasa]]; 1954), and ''[[Samurai I: Musashi Miyamoto|Samurai, The Legend of Musashi]]'' ([[Hiroshi Inagaki]]; 1955) {{harv|MMPAJ}}. The Japanese-Soviet co-production ''[[Dersu Uzala (1975 film)|Dersu Uzala]]'' ([[Akira Kurosawa]]; 1975) won the award, but it was submitted for the Soviet Union {{harv|Armstrong}}.}}

''Departures'' received positive reviews, with aggregator [[Rotten Tomatoes]] indicating an 80% approval rating from 108 reviews. Critics praised the film's humour, the beauty of the [[wikt:encoffining|encoffining]] ceremony, and the quality of the acting, but some took issue with its predictability and overt sentimentality. Reviewers highlighted a variety of themes, but focused mainly on the humanity that death brings to the surface and how it strengthens family bonds. The success of ''Departures'' led to the establishment of tourist attractions at sites connected to the film and increased interest in encoffining ceremonies, as well as adaptation of the story for various media, including [[manga]] and a stage play.

==Plot==
Daigo Kobayashi ([[Masahiro Motoki]]) loses his job as a cellist when his orchestra is disbanded. He and his wife Mika ([[Ryōko Hirosue]]) move from Tokyo to his hometown in [[Yamagata Prefecture|Yamagata]], where they live in his childhood home that was left to him when his mother died two years earlier. It is fronted by a coffee shop that Daigo's father had operated before he ran off with a waitress when Daigo was six; since then the two have had no contact. Daigo feels hatred towards his father and guilt for not taking better care of his mother. He still keeps a "stone-letter"—a stone which is said to convey meaning through its texture—which his father had given him many years before.

Daigo finds an advertisement for a job "assisting departures". Assuming it to be a job in a travel agency, he goes to the interview at the NK Agent office and learns from the secretary, Yuriko Kamimura ([[Kimiko Yo]]), that he will be preparing bodies for cremation in a ceremony known as [[wikt:encoffinment|encoffinment]]. Though reluctant, Daigo is hired on the spot and receives a cash advance from his new boss, Sasaki ([[Tsutomu Yamazaki]]). Daigo is furtive about his duties and hides the true nature of the job from Mika.

His first assignment is to assist with the encoffinment of a woman who died at home and remained undiscovered for two weeks. He is beset with nausea and later humiliated when strangers on a bus detect an unsavoury scent on him. To clean himself, he visits a [[Sentō|public bath]] which he had frequented as a child. It is owned by Tsuyako Yamashita ([[Kazuko Yoshiyuki]]), the mother of one of Daigo's former classmates.

Over time, Daigo becomes comfortable with his profession as he completes a number of assignments and experiences the gratitude of the families of the deceased. Though he faces social ostracism, Daigo refuses to quit, even after Mika discovers a training DVD in which he plays a corpse and leaves him to return to her parents' home in Tokyo. Daigo's former classmate Yamashita ([[Tetta Sugimoto]]) insists that the mortician find a more respectable line of work and, until then, avoids him and his family.

After a few months, Mika returns and announces that she is pregnant. She expresses hope that Daigo will find a job of which their child can be proud. During the ensuing argument, Daigo receives a call for an encoffinment for Mrs Yamashita. Daigo prepares her body in front of both the Yamashita family and Mika, who had known the public bath owner. The ritual earns him the respect of all present, and Mika stops insisting that Daigo change jobs. At the funeral, Yamashita is permitted to witness the burning of his mother's body through a peephole on the retort and listens to a heartfelt anecdote about death told by the furnace operator.

Sometime later, they learn of the death of Daigo's father. Daigo experiences renewed feelings of anger and tells the others at the NK office that he refuses to deal with his father's body. Feeling ashamed of having abandoned her own son long ago, Yuriko tells this to Daigo in an effort to change his mind. Daigo berates Yuriko and storms out before collecting himself and turning around. He goes with Mika to another village to see the body. Daigo is at first unable to recognize him, but takes offence when local funeral workers are careless with the body. He insists on dressing it himself, and while doing so finds a stone-letter that he had given to his father, held tight in the dead man's hands. The childhood memory of his father's face returns to him, and after he finishes the ceremony, Daigo gently presses the stone-letter to Mika's pregnant belly.

==Production==

===Cultural background===
{{Main|Nōkanshi}}
[[Japanese funeral]]s are highly ritualized affairs which are generally—though not always—conducted in accordance with [[Buddhism|Buddhist]] rites.{{sfn|Sosnoski|1996|p=70}} 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.{{sfn|Olsen 2009}} This ceremony is not standardized, but generally involves professional {{nihongo|morticians|納棺師|nōkanshi}}{{efn|Also called {{nihongo|morticians|湯灌師|yukanshi}}; ''{{transliteration|ja|yukan}}'' is the ceremonial cleansing of the body that comes before the ''{{transliteration|ja|nōkan}}'' proper.}} 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 deemed necessary for the trip to the afterlife.<ref>{{harvnb|Kim|2002|pp=225–257}}<!-- (particularly 234–37) -->; {{harvnb|Okuyama|2013|p=4}}.</ref>

Despite the importance of death rituals, in traditional Japanese culture the subject is considered unclean as everything related to death is thought to be a source of ''{{transliteration|ja|[[kegare]]}}'' (defilement). After coming into contact with the dead, individuals must cleanse themselves through [[Harae|purifying rituals]].{{sfn|Plutschow|1990|p = 30}} People who work closely with the dead, such as morticians, are thus considered unclean, and during the [[Feudal Japan|feudal era]] those whose work was related to death became ''[[burakumin]]'' (untouchables), forced to live in their own hamlets and discriminated against by wider society. Despite a cultural shift since the [[Meiji Restoration]] of 1868, the stigma of death still has considerable force within Japanese society, and discrimination against the untouchables has continued.{{efn|For a more detailed discussion of the position of ''kegare'' and death in Japanese society, see {{harvnb|Okuyama|2013|pp=8–12}}.}}{{sfn|Pharr|2006|pp=134–135}}

Until 1972, most deaths were dealt with by families, funeral homes, or ''{{transliteration|ja|nōkanshi}}''. {{as of|2014||}}, about 80%<!-- "８割" (eight-tenths) isn't necessarily exactly 80% --> of deaths occur in hospitals, and preparation of the bodies is frequently done by hospital staff; in such cases, the family often does not see the body until the funeral.{{sfn|Hosaka|2014|p = 58}} A 1998 survey found that 29.5% of the Japanese population believed in an afterlife, and a further 40% wanted to believe; belief was highest {{not a typo|among the young}}. Belief in the existence of a soul (54%) and a connection between the worlds of the living and the dead (64.9%) was likewise common.{{sfn|Ide|2009|p = 2}}

===Conception and preproduction===
In the early 1990s, a 27-year-old Motoki and his friend travelled to India; just before going, at the friend's recommendation he read [[Shin'ya Fujiwara]]'s ''Memento Mori'' (Latin for "remember that you will die").{{sfn|Takabe|Wakatsuki|2009|pp = 194–195}} While in India, he visited [[Varanasi]], where he saw a ceremony in which the dead were cremated and their ashes floated down the [[Ganges]].{{sfn|Iwata|2008|p = 9}}  Witnessing this ceremony of death against a backdrop of bustling crowds going about their lives deeply affected Motoki.{{sfn|Takabe|Wakatsuki|2009|pp = 194–195}} When he returned to Japan, he read numerous books on the subject of death, and in 1993 wrote a book on the relationship between life and death: ''Tenkuu Seiza—Hill Heaven''.{{efn|{{cite book|script-title=ja:天空静座―Hill Heaven|title=Tenkū Seiza―Hill Heaven|trans-title=Tenkuu Seiza—Hill Heaven|language=ja|editor1-last=Motoki|editor1-first=Masahiro|editor2=Silver Insects|year=1993|publisher=Tōa Dōbunshoin International|isbn=978-4-8103-7183-3}} }}{{sfn|Takabe|Wakatsuki|2009|p = 195}} Among the books he read was [[Shinmon Aoki]]'s autobiographical {{nihongo|''Coffinman: The Journal of a Buddhist Mortician''|納棺夫日記|Nōkanfu Nikki}},{{efn|Shinmon Aoki was born in Toyama Prefecture in 1937, and ran a pub-café until it went out of business, thereafter becoming a mortician as detailed in ''Coffinman'' {{harv|Tanabe|2009|p=9}}.}} which exposed Motoki to the world of the ''{{transliteration|ja|nōkanshi}}'' for the first time. Motoki said he found a sense of mystery and near-eroticism to the profession that he felt had an affinity with the film world.{{efn|Original: 「その職業はとてもミステリアスで、ある種、エロチックで、すごく映画の世界に近いと感じたんです」.}}{{sfn|Takabe|Wakatsuki|2009|p = 196}}

Getting funding for the project was difficult because of the taboos against death, and the crew had to approach several companies before ''Departures'' was approved by Yasuhiro Mase and Toshiaki Nakazawa.<ref>{{harvnb|Schilling 2009, Funereal flick}}; {{harvnb|Hale 2009}}.</ref> According to the film's director, [[Yōjirō Takita]], a consideration in taking on the film was the age of the crew: "we got to a certain point in our lives when death was creeping up to become a factor around us".{{sfn|Takita|2008|loc = 00:50–01:10}} [[Kundō Koyama]] was enlisted to provide the script, his first for a feature film; his previous experience had been in scripting for television and stage.{{sfn|Yoshida|2010|p = 43}} Takita, who had begun his career in the [[pink film]] genre before entering mainstream filmmaking in 1986 with ''[[Comic Magazine]]'',{{efn|Takita's works in the pink film genre included ''Chikan Onna Kyōshi'' (''Molestful Female Teacher'', 1981), {{Interlanguage link|Renzoku Bōran|ja|3=連続暴姦|lt=''Renzoku Bōran''}} (''Serial Violent Rape'', 1983) and ''Mahiru no Kirisaki-Ma'' (''Midday Ripper'', 1984) {{harv|Suzuki|2012}}. By the time he directed ''Departures'', his more mainstream work had already gained international recognition and awards: the 2003 film ''[[When the Last Sword Is Drawn]]'', for instance, won Takita his first Japan Academy Prize for Best Film {{harv|Sapia staff|2009}}. Such a career path was not uncommon for directors in Japan in the 1970s and 1980s; the Japan Academy Prize winner [[Masayuki Suo]], for instance, made his debut with ''[[Kandagawa Pervert Wars]]'' {{harv|Suzuki|2012}}. }} took on the director's role in 2006, after producer Toshiaki Nakazawa presented him with the first draft of the script.<ref>{{harvnb|Schilling 2009, Funereal flick}}; {{harvnb|Takabe|Wakatsuki|2009|p=198}}.</ref> In a later interview he stated "I wanted to make a film from the perspective of a person who deals with something so universal and yet is looked down upon, and even discriminated against".{{sfn|Blair 2009, Departures (Japan)}} Although he knew of the encoffining ceremony, he had never seen one performed.{{sfn|Olsen 2009}}

Production of ''Departures'' took ten years, and the work was ultimately only loosely adapted from ''Coffinman'';<ref>{{harvnb|Tourtellotte|Reynolds|2009}}; {{harvnb|Gray|2009}}.</ref> later revisions of the script were worked on collaboratively by the cast and crew.{{sfn|Takita|2008|loc = 1:32–1:40}} Although the religious aspects of funerals were important in the source work, the film did not include them. This, together with the fact that filming was completed in [[Yamagata Prefecture|Yamagata]] and not Aoki's home prefecture of [[Toyama Prefecture|Toyama]], led to tensions between the production staff and the author. Aoki expressed concern that the film was unable to address "the ultimate fate of the dead".{{sfn|Mullins|2010|p = 102}} The first edition of the book was broken into three parts; the third, "Light and Life", was an essay-like Buddhist musing on life and death, regarding the "light" seen when one perceived the integration of life and death, that is absent from the film.<ref>{{harvnb|Handa|2010|pp=64, 76}}; {{harvnb|Tanabe|2009|p=9}}.</ref> Aoki believed the film's humanistic approach did away with the religious aspects that were central to the book—the emphasis on maintaining connections between the living and the dead that he felt only religion could provide—and refused to allow his name and that of his book to be used.{{sfn|Tanabe|2009|p = 9}} For the new title, Koyama coined the term ''{{transliteration|ja|okuribito}}'' as a euphemism for ''{{transliteration|ja|nōkanshi}}'', derived from the words ''{{transliteration|ja|okuru}}'' ("to send off") and ''{{transliteration|ja|hito}}'' ("person").{{sfn|Okuyama|2013|p = 13}}

While the book and film share the same premise, the details differ considerably; Aoki attributed these changes to the studio making the story more commercial.<ref>{{harvnb|Handa|2010|pp=74–75}}; {{harvnb|Okuyama|2013|p=3}}.</ref> Both feature a protagonist who endures uneasiness and prejudice because of his job as a ''{{transliteration|ja|nōkanshi}}'',{{sfn|Tanabe|2009|p = 9}} undergoes personal growth as a result of his experiences, and finds new meaning in life when confronted with death.{{sfn|Handa|2010|pp = 73–74}} In both, the main character deals with societal prejudices and misunderstandings over his profession.{{sfn|Handa|2010|p = 75}}  In ''Coffinman'', the protagonist was the owner of a pub-café that had gone out of business; during a domestic squabble his wife threw a newspaper at him, in which he found an ad for the ''{{transliteration|ja|nōkanshi}}'' position.{{sfn|Handa|2010|p = 74}}  He finds pride in his work for the first time when dealing with the body of the father of a former girlfriend.{{sfn|Handa|2010|p = 75}} Koyama changed the protagonist from a bar owner to cellist as he wanted cello orchestration for the film score.{{sfn|Handa|2010|pp = 76–77}}  Other differences included moving the setting from Toyoma to Yamagata for filming convenience, making the "letter-stone" a greater part of the plot,{{sfn|Handa|2010|p = 77}} and an avoidance of heavier scenes, such as religious ones and one in which Aoki talks of seeing "light" in a swarm of maggots.{{sfn|Tanabe|2009|p = 9}} Koyama also added the subplot in which Daigo is able to forgive his late father; taken from a novel he was writing, it was intended to close the story with "some sense of happiness".{{sfn|Okuyama|2013|pp = 313}}

===Casting===
[[File:Ryoko Hirosue at Kochi Yosakoi Matsuri 1 crop2.jpg|thumb|upright|left|[[Ryōko Hirosue]], who had formerly worked with Takita, was cast as Mika.]]
Motoki, by then in his early 40s and having built a reputation as a realist, was cast as Daigo.{{efn|Motoki was born in 1965 in [[Saitama Prefecture|Saitama]] and made his professional acting debut in 1981 in the TV drama ''2-nen B-gumi Senpachi Sensei'' (''Mr Senpachi of Class 2-B''). In 1989 he won the Japan Academy Prize for Best New Actor for his role in {{Interlanguage link|Four Days of Snow and Blood|ja|3=226 (映画)|lt=''Four Days of Snow and Blood''}} {{harv|Weekly Biz staff|2009}}.}}{{sfn|Weekly Biz staff|2009}} Veteran actor Tsutomu Yamazaki was selected for the role of Sasaki;{{sfn|Schilling 2009, Funereal flick}} Takita had worked with Yamazaki on ''[[We Are Not Alone (1993 film)|We Are Not Alone]]'' (1993).{{sfn|Nomura|2008|p = 60}} Although the character of Mika was initially planned as being the same age as Daigo, the role went to pop singer Ryōko
Hirosue, who had previously acted in Takita's ''Himitsu'' (''Secret'') in 1999.{{efn|In ''Himitsu'', the personality of a man's dead wife takes over the body of the couple's teenage daughter; Hirosue played both the mother and daughter {{harv|Schilling 2009, Funereal flick}}. She was nominated for a [[Japan Academy Prize (film)|Japan Academy Prize]] for her performance {{harv|Nippon Academy-shō Association, 2000}}. }} Takita explained that a younger actress would better represent the lead couple's growth out of naivety.{{sfn|Schilling 2009, Funereal flick}} In a 2009 interview, Takita stated that he had cast "everyone who was on my wish list".{{sfn|Blair 2009, Just a Minute}}

Motoki studied the art of encoffinment first-hand from a mortician, and assisted in an encoffining ceremony; he later stated that the experience imbued him with "a sense of mission&nbsp;... to try to use as much human warmth as I could to restore [the deceased] to a lifelike presence for presentation to her family".<ref>{{harvnb|Takabe|Wakatsuki|2009|p=199}}; {{harvnb|Hale 2009}}.</ref> Motoki then drilled himself by practising on his [[talent manager]] until he felt he had mastered the procedure, one whose intricate, delicate movements he compared to those of the [[Japanese tea ceremony]].<ref>{{harvnb|Nomura|2008|p=60}}; {{harvnb|Tsukada|2008|p=2}}; {{harvnb|Takabe|Wakatsuki|2009|p=199}}.</ref> Takita attended funeral ceremonies to understand the feelings of bereaved families, while Yamazaki never participated in the encoffinment training.<ref>{{harvnb|Iwata|2008|p=8}}; {{harvnb|Tourtellotte|Reynolds|2009}}.</ref> Motoki also learned how to play a cello for the earlier parts of the film.{{sfn|Tourtellotte|Reynolds|2009}}

To provide realistic bodies while preventing the [[corpsing|corpses from moving]], after a lengthy casting process the crew chose [[extra (acting)|extras]] who could lie as still as possible. For the bath house owner Tsuyako Yamashita, this was not possible owing to the need to see her alive first, and a search for a [[body double]] was unfruitful. Ultimately, the crew used digital effects to transplant a still image of the actor during the character's funeral scene, allowing for a realistic effect.{{sfn|Blair 2009, Just a Minute}}

===Filming and post-production===
The non-profit organization Sakata Location Box was established in December 2007 to handle on-location matters such as finding extras and negotiating locations.  After deciding to shoot in Sakata, Location Box staff had two months to prepare for the eighty members of the film crew.{{sfn|Hagiwara|2009|p = 8}} Negotiations were slow, as many local property owners lost interest after learning that the filming would involve funeral scenes; those who agreed insisted that shooting take place outside of business hours.{{sfn|Hagiwara|2009|p = 9}}

[[File:NK Agent building from Okuribito.jpg|thumb|alt=|This former restaurant was used as the location of the NK Agent office.]]
Toyama was both the setting of ''Coffinman'' and Takita's home prefecture, but filming was done in Yamagata; this was largely because the national Nōkan Association, headquartered in [[Hokkaido]], had a branch office in Sakata.{{sfn|Takabe|Wakatsuki|2009|p = 198}} Some preliminary scenes of snowy landscapes were shot in 2007, and primary filming began in April 2008, lasting 40 days.<ref>{{harvnb|Nomura|2008|p=59}}; {{harvnb|Takabe|Wakatsuki|2009|p=199}}.</ref> Locations included [[Kaminoyama, Yamagata|Kaminoyama]], Sakata, [[Tsuruoka, Yamagata|Tsuruoka]], [[Yuza]], and [[Amarume]].{{sfn|Takabe|Wakatsuki|2009|p = 199}}  The NK Agent office was filmed in a three-storey, Western-style building in Sakata built in 1922.  Originally a restaurant named Kappō Obata, it went out of business in 1998.{{sfn|Yamagata News Online staff|2014}} The Kobayashis' café, called Concerto in the film, was located in Kaminoyama in a former beauty salon.  From a hundred candidates, Takita chose it for its atmosphere as an aged building with a clear view of the nearby river and surrounding mountain range.{{sfn|Yamagata Community Shinbun staff|2009}}  The scene of the shooting of the training DVD took place in the [[Sakata Minato-za]], Yamagata's first movie theatre, which had been closed since 2002.{{sfn|Yamagata Television System staff|2009}}

The soundtrack to ''Departures'' was by [[Joe Hisaishi]], a composer who had gained international recognition for his work with [[Hayao Miyazaki]] and [[Studio Ghibli]]. Before shooting began, Takita asked him to prepare a soundtrack which would represent the separation between Daigo and his father, as well as the mortician's love for his wife.{{sfn|Takita|2008|loc = 06:08–06:16}} Owing to the importance of cellos and cello music in the narrative, Hisaishi emphasized the instrument in his soundtrack;{{sfn|Nippon Academy-shō Association, 2009}} he described the challenge of centring a score around the cello as one of the most difficult things he had ever done.{{sfn|Takita|2008|loc = 06:28–06:50}} This score was played during shooting, which according to Takita "allowed [the crew] to visualize many of the emotions in the film" and thus contributed to the quality of the finished work.{{sfn|Takita|2008|loc = 06:17–06:28}}

==Style==
As they are the movie's "central dramatic piece", the encoffining ceremonies in ''Departures'' have received extensive commentary.{{sfn|Byrnes 2009}} [[Mike Scott (film critic)|Mike Scott]], for instance, wrote in ''[[The Times-Picayune]]'' that these scenes were beautiful and heartbreaking, and Nicholas Barber of ''[[The Independent]]'' described them as "elegant and dignified".<ref>{{harvnb|Mike Scott 2009}}; {{harvnb|Barber 2009}}.</ref> James Adams of ''[[The Globe and Mail]]'' wrote that they were a "dignified ritual of calming, hypnotic grace, with sleights of hand bordering on the magicianly".{{sfn|Adams 2009}} As the film continues, Paul Byrnes of ''[[The Sydney Morning Herald]]'' opined, the audience gains an improved knowledge of the ceremony and its importance.{{sfn|Byrnes 2009}} Viewers see that the ceremonies are not simply about preparing the body, but also about "bring[ing] dignity to death, respect to the deceased and solace to those who grieve", through which the encoffiners are able to help repair broken family ties and heal damage done to those left behind.{{sfn|Sharkey 2009}}

There is an idealization of the ''{{transliteration|ja|nōkanshi}}'' as presented in the film. In all but one case, the dead are either young or already made-up, such that "the viewer can easily tolerate these images on the screen".{{sfn|Okuyama|2013|p = 5}} The one corpse that had not been found for several days is never shown on screen.{{sfn|Okuyama|2013|p = 5}} No bodies show the gaunt figure of one who has died after a long illness, or the cuts and bruises of an accident victim.{{sfn|Okuyama|2013|p = 17}} [[Japanese studies|Japanologist]] Mark R. Mullins writes that the gratitude shown in ''Departures'' would probably not have occurred in real life; according to ''Coffinman'', there "is nothing lower on the social scale than the mortician, and the truth of the matter is that [the Japanese people] fear the coffinman and the cremator just as much as death and the corpse".{{sfn|Mullins|2010|p = 103}}

[[File:2007 Sakura of Fukushima-e 007 rotated.jpg|thumb|upright=1.0|Symbolism has been found in the film's use of [[cherry blossom]]s.]]
In a [[Montage (filmmaking)|montage]], scenes of Daigo playing his childhood cello while sitting outdoors are interspersed with scenes of encoffining ceremonies. Byrnes believes that this scene was meant to increase the emotional charge of the film,{{sfn|Byrnes 2009}} and [[Roger Ebert]] of the ''[[Chicago Sun-Times]]'' considered it a "beautiful fantasy scene" through which the camera is "granted sudden freedom" from the generally standard shots.{{sfn|Ebert, Great Movies}} [[Yoshiko Okuyama]] of the [[University of Hawaii at Hilo]] found that Daigo's deft movements while playing the cello mirrored the high level of professionalism which he had reached.{{sfn|Okuyama|2013|p = 16}} Several reviewers, such as Leigh Paatsch of the ''[[Herald Sun]]'', questioned the need for the shot.{{sfn|Paatsch 2009}}<!--pretty sure there are one or two more reviews that ridiculed the scene--> Throughout the film's soundtrack, cello music remains dominant.{{sfn|Adams 2009}} Takita drew parallels between the instrument and the encoffining ceremony, stating that

{{Blockquote|1=... ironically, there is something similar between the process of encoffinment and the act of playing the cello. When you play the cello, the instrument has a human, curvaceous form. The cellist embraces that form when playing the instrument, very loving, affectionate. That's very similar, physically, to the actions of the encoffiner, cradling the body, being tender and gentle with it.{{sfn|Moore 2009}}}}

Byrnes found that ''Departures'' used the symbol of the [[cherry blossom]], a flower which blooms after the winter only to wither soon afterwards, to represent the transience of life; through this understanding, he wrote, Japanese people attempt to define their own existence. Natural symbols are further presented through the changing seasons, which "suggest delicate emotional changes" in the characters,{{sfn|Byrnes 2009}} as well as the letter-stones, which represent "love, communication, [and] the baton being passed from generation to generation".{{sfn|Takita|2008|loc = 09:35–09:55}} The film's settings are used to convey various sensations, including the solitude of the countryside and the intimacy of the public bath house.{{sfn|Howell 2009}} The colour white, manifested through snow, [[chrysanthemum]]s, and other objects, is prominent in the film; Okuyama suggests that this, together with the classical music and ritualized hand gestures, represents the sacredness and purity of the death ceremonies.{{sfn|Okuyama|2013|p = 8}}

''Departures'' incorporates aspects of humour, an "unexpected" complement to the theme of death which Ebert suggested may be used to mask the audience's fears.<ref>{{harvnb|Ebert, Departures}}; {{harvnb|Mike Scott 2009}}.</ref> Betsy Sharkey of the ''[[Los Angeles Times]]'' opines that, through this use of humour, the film avoids becoming too dark and instead acts as a "warmhearted blend" of whimsy and irony.{{sfn|Sharkey 2009}} This humour manifests in a variety of manners, such as a scene in which "a mortified Daigo, naked except for a pair of adult diapers, is the reluctant model" for an educational video regarding the encoffining process, as well as a scene in which Daigo discovers that the person he is preparing is a [[trans woman]].{{efn|According to Takita, the inclusion of a trans woman in the opening scene was to show both the "grace and gravity of the ritual" as well as indicate that the film would not be a "very heavy" one {{harv|Takita|2008|loc=03:30–03:55}}.}}<ref>{{harvnb|Adams 2009}}; {{harvnb|Sharkey 2009}}.</ref> Takita stated that the addition of humour was deliberate, as "humans are comical by nature", and that the humour did not conflict with the film's darker themes.{{sfn|Blair 2009, Departures (Japan)}}

==Themes==
Several critics discussed the theme of death found in ''Departures''. Scott highlighted the contrast between the taboo of death and the value of jobs related to it. He also noted the role of the encoffiner in showing "one last act of compassion" by presenting the dead in a way which preserved proud memories of their life.{{sfn|Mike Scott 2009}} Initially, Daigo and his family are unable to overcome the taboos and their squeamishness when faced with death. Daigo is alienated from his wife and friends owing to traditional values.{{sfn|Howell 2009}} Ultimately it is through his work with the dead that Daigo finds fulfilment, and, as Peter Howell of the ''[[Toronto Star]]'' concluded, viewers realize that "death may be the termination of a life, but it's not the end of humanity".{{sfn|Howell 2009}} Okuyama writes that, in the end, the film (and the book on which it was based) serves as a "quiet yet persistent protest" against the discrimination which people who deal with death continue to face in modern Japan: death is a normal part of life, not something repulsive.{{sfn|Okuyama|2013|p = 10}}

Along with this theme of death, Takita believed ''Departures'' was about life, about finding a lost sense of feeling human;{{sfn|Handa|2010|p = 74}} Daigo gains a greater perspective on life and realises the diversity of people's lives only after encountering them in death.<ref>{{harvnb|Katsuta|2008|p=11}}; {{harvnb|Iwata|2008|p=8}}.</ref> This life includes family bonds: Daigo's coming to terms with his father is a major motif, encoffinment scenes focus on the living family members rather than the dead, and even in the NK Agent office, conversation often revolves around family issues. Mika's pregnancy is the catalyst for her reconciliation with Daigo.{{sfn|Tanabe|2009|p = 9}}

Ebert writes that, as with other Japanese films such as ''[[Tokyo Story]]'' ([[Yasujirō Ozu]]; 1953) and ''[[The Funeral (1984 film)|The Funeral]]'' ([[Juzo Itami]]; 1984), ''Departures'' focuses on the effect of death on the survivors; the afterlife is not given much discussion.<ref>{{harvnb|Ebert, Great Movies}}; {{harvnb|Ebert, Departures}}.</ref> He considered this indicative of a "deep and unsensational acceptance of death" in Japanese culture, one which is to be met not with extreme sorrow, but with contemplation.{{sfn|Ebert, Departures}} Takita stated that he intended to focus on the "dialogue between people who have passed away and the families that survive them".{{sfn|Blair 2009, Departures (Japan)}} The film touches on the question of the afterlife: the cremator likens death to "a gateway", and Okuyama writes that in this sense the cremator is a gatekeeper and the encoffiners are guides.{{sfn|Okuyama|2013|p = 13}}

Byrnes found that ''Departures'' leads one to question the extent of modernity's effect on Japanese culture, noting the undercurrent of "traditional attitudes and values" which permeated the film. Although the encoffining ceremony was traditionally completed by the dead person's family, a decreased interest in it opened a "niche market" for professional encoffiners.{{sfn|Byrnes 2009}} Okuyama wrote that, through this film, Takita was filling a "spiritual loss" caused by the departure from tradition in modern Japan.{{sfn|Okuyama|2013|p = 18}} [[Tadao Sato]] connected this theme of modernity to that of death, explaining that the film's unusually non-bitter treatment of death demonstrated an evolution in Japanese feelings about life and death. He considered the film's treatment of ''{{transliteration|ja|nōkan}}'' as an artistic rather than religious ceremony to reflect the agnostic attitudes of modern Japan.{{sfn|Tanabe|2009|p = 9}}

==Release==

The taboo subject of ''Departures'' made prospective distributors wary of taking on the film.{{sfn|Takabe|Wakatsuki|2009|p = 203}} Surveys conducted at pre-release screenings placed it at the bottom of the list of films audiences wanted to see.{{sfn|Takabe|Wakatsuki|2009|p = 203}} Ultimately, the film's debut at the [[Montreal World Film Festival]] in August 2008, which was rewarded with the festival's grand prize, provided the necessary incentive for distributors to select ''Departures''; it finally received its domestic Japanese release on 13 September 2008.<ref>{{harvnb|Kinema Junpo}}; {{harvnb|Schilling 2009, Producer}}; {{harvnb|Blair 2009, Yojiro Takita}}; {{harvnb|Kilday 2009, Regent}}.</ref> Even then, owing to the strong taboo against death, Takita was worried about the film's reception and did not anticipate commercial success, and others expressed concern that the film lacked a clear target audience.<ref>{{harvnb|Tourtellotte|Reynolds|2009}}; {{harvnb|Schilling 2009, Producer}}.</ref>

This fear was misplaced; ''Departures'' debuted in Japan at fifth place, and during the fifth week of its run hit its peak position at third place.{{sfn|Takabe|Wakatsuki|2009|p = 203}} It sold 2.6 million tickets in Japan and generated 3.2 billion [[Japanese yen|yen]] ($32 million) in box office revenue in the five months after its debut.<ref>{{harvnb|Eiga Ranking Dot Com staff}}; {{harvnb|Blair 2009, 'Departures' welcomed}}; {{harvnb|Schilling 2009, Funereal flick}}.</ref> The film was still showing in 31 theatres when its success at the [[Academy Awards]] in February 2009 renewed interest; the number of screens on which it was showing was increased to 188 and the film earned another ¥2.8 billion ($28 million), making a total of ¥6 billion ($60 million). This made ''Departures'' the highest-grossing domestic film and 15th top-grossing film overall for 2008.<ref>{{harvnb|Eiga Ranking Dot Com staff}}; {{harvnb|Blair 2009, 'Departures' welcomed}}; {{harvnb|Schilling 2009, Funereal flick}}; .{{harvnb|Takabe|Wakatsuki|2009|p=203}}</ref> Executive producer Yasuhiro Mase credited this success to the effects of the [[Great Recession]] on Japan: viewers who were seeking employment after recently being downsized empathized with Daigo.{{sfn|Schilling 2009, Producer}}

From the beginning an international release of the film was intended; as English is considered a key language in international film festivals, English subtitles were prepared. The translation was handled by Ian MacDougall.{{sfn|Shinohara|2013|p = 81}} He believed that the workings of the mortician's world were as far from the experience of most Japanese as from that of a non-Japanese audience. As such he felt a faithful translation was best, without going far to accommodate foreign audiences to unfamiliar cross-cultural elements.{{sfn|Shinohara|2013|p = 82}}

In September 2008, ContentFilm acquired the international rights to ''Departures'', which by that time had been licensed for screening in countries such as Greece, Australia, and Malaysia; the film was ultimately screened in 36 countries.<ref>{{harvnb|Frater 2008}}; {{harvnb|Danielsen}}.</ref> North American distribution was handled by [[Regent Releasing]],
and ''Departures'' received a [[limited release]] in nine theatres beginning on 29 May 2009. Overall, the film earned almost $1.5 million during its North American run before closing on 24 June 2010.{{sfn|''Box Office Mojo''}} In the United Kingdom, ''Departures'' premiered on 4 December 2009 and was distributed by [[Arrow Films|Arrow Film Distributors]].{{sfn|British Board of Film Classification}} The film attained a worldwide gross of nearly $70 million.<ref>{{harvnb|Tourtellotte|Reynolds|2009}}; {{harvnb|''Box Office Mojo''}}.</ref>

===Adaptations and other media===
{{Multiple image
| image1            = Joe Hisaishi 2011.jpg
| image2            = Ai at The Best Tour (cropped).png
| width1            = 153
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| caption1          = 
| footer            = The film's composer [[Joe Hisaishi]] (''left'') worked with [[Ai (singer)|Ai]] (''right'') on the image song "[[Okuribito (song)|Okuribito]]".
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}}
Before ''Departures'' premiered, a [[manga]] adaptation by [[Akira Sasō]] was serialized in twelve instalments in the bi-weekly ''[[Big Comic Superior]]'', from February to August 2008. Sasō agreed to take on the adaptation as he was impressed by the script. He had the opportunity to view the film before beginning the adaptation, and came to feel that a too-literal adaptation would not be appropriate. He made changes to the settings and physical appearances of the characters, and increased the focus on the role of music in the story.{{sfn|Takahashi 2008}} Later in 2008 the serial was compiled in a 280-page volume released by [[Shogakukan]].{{sfn|''Okuribito''}}

On 10 September 2008, three days before the Japanese premiere of ''Departures'', a [[Departures (soundtrack)|soundtrack album]] for the film—containing nineteen tracks from the film and featuring an orchestral performance by members of the [[Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra|Tokyo Metropolitan]] and [[NHK Symphony Orchestra]]s—was released by [[Universal Music|Universal Music Japan]].<ref>{{harvnb|Billboard Japan}}; {{harvnb|Universal Music}}.</ref> Pop singer [[Ai (singer)|Ai]] provided lyrics to music by Hisaishi for the [[image song]] "[[Okuribito (song)|Okuribito]]"; performed by Ai with an arrangement for cellos and orchestra, the single was released by [[Universal Music Japan|Universal Sigma]] and [[Island Records]] on 10 September 2008 along with a promotional video.{{sfn|CinemaCafé.net staff|2008}} Sheet music for the film's soundtrack was published by KMP<!--ケイ・エム・ピー--> in 2008 (for cello and piano) and Onkyō<!--オンキョウパブリシュ--> in 2009 (for cello, violin, and piano).<ref>{{harvnb|おくりびと : ピアノ&チェロ・ピース}}; {{harvnb|WorldCat, おくりびと : on record}}.</ref>

Shinobu Momose, a writer specializing in novelizations, adapted ''Departures'' as a novel. It was published by Shogakukan in 2008. That year the company also released ''Ishibumi''{{efn|Original: {{Nihongo||いしぶみ|ishibumi|extra2="Inscribed stone monument"}}.}} (''Letter-Stone''), an illustrated book on the themes of the film told from the point of view of a talking stone; this book was written by Koyama and illustrated by Seitarō Kurota.{{sfn|Handa|2010|p = 59}} The following year Shogakukan published an edition of Koyama's first draft of the screenplay.{{sfn|Handa|2010|pp = 58, 76}} A stage version of the film, also titled ''Departures'', was written by Koyama and directed by Takita. It debuted at the [[Akasaka ACT Theater]] on 29 May 2010, featuring [[kabuki]] actor [[Nakamura Kankurō VI|Nakamura Kankurō]] as Daigo and [[Rena Tanaka]] as Mika.<ref>{{harvnb|Asahi Shimbun staff|2010|p=1}}; {{harvnb|Asahi Shimbun staff|2010|p=2}}.</ref> The story, set seven years after the close of the film, concerns the insecurities of the couple's son over Daigo's profession.{{sfn|Asahi Shimbun staff|2010|p = 1}}

===Home releases===
A dual-layer DVD release, with special features including trailers, making-of documentaries, and a recorded encoffining ceremony, was released in Japan on 18 March 2009.{{sfn|Cinema Topics Online staff|2009}} A North American DVD edition of ''Departures'', including an interview with the director, was released by [[Koch Vision]] on 12 January 2010; the film was not [[Dubbing (filmmaking)|dubbed]], but rather presented with Japanese audio and English subtitles. A Blu-ray edition followed in May.{{sfn|Releases}} This home release received mixed reviews. Franck Tabouring of [[DVD Verdict]] was highly complimentary toward the film and the digital transfer, considering its visuals clean and sharp and the audio (particularly the music) "a pleasure to listen to".{{sfn|Tabouring|2010}} Thomas Spurlin, writing for [[DVD Talk]], rated the release as "Highly Recommended", focusing on the "unexpected powerhouse" of the film's quality.{{sfn|Spurlin|2010}} Another writer for the website, Jeremy Mathews, advised readers to "Skip It", finding the DVD an apt presentation of the source material—which he considered to "reduce itself to clumsy, mug-filled attempts at broad comedy and awkward, repetitive tear-jerker scenes".{{sfn|Mathews|2010}} Both DVD Talk reviews agreed that the audio and visual quality were less than perfect, and that the DVD's extra contents were poor; Mathews described the interview as the director answering "dull questions in a dull manner".<ref>{{harvnb|Spurlin|2010}}; {{harvnb|Mathews|2010}}.</ref>

==Reception==

===Critical response===
''Departures'' received generally positive reviews from critics. The [[review aggregator]] [[Rotten Tomatoes]] sampled 109 reviewers and judged an 80% approval rating, with an [[Weighted arithmetic mean|average]] score of 7.1 out of 10. The website's critical consensus states, "If slow and predictable, ''Departures'' is a quiet, life affirming story".{{sfn|Rotten Tomatoes}} The aggregator [[Metacritic]] gives the film 68 out of 100, based on 27 reviews, indicating "generaly favorable reviews".{{sfn|Metacritic}}

====Domestic reviews====
Initial reviews in Japan were positive. In ''[[Kinema Junpo]]'', Tokitoshi Shioda called ''Departures'' a turning point in Takita's career, a human drama capturing both laughter and tears,{{sfn|Shioda|2008|p = 62}} while in the same publication Masaaki Nomura described the film as a work of supple depth that perhaps indicated a move into Takita's mature period, praising the director for capturing a human feeling from Motoki's earnest encoffining performance.{{sfn|Nomura|2008|p = 61}} Writing in the ''[[Yomiuri Shimbun]]'', Seichi Fukunaga complimented Takita for using a moving, emotive story laden with humour to reverse prejudice against a taboo subject. He commended the performances of Motoki and Yamazaki, particularly their playing the serious Daigo against the befuddled Sasaki.{{sfn|Fukunaga|2008|p = 11}}

In the ''[[Asahi Shimbun]]'', Sadao Yamane found the film admirably constructed and extolled the actors' performances. Yamane was especially impressed by the delicate hand movements Motoki displayed when he performed the encoffinment ceremony.{{sfn|Yamane|2008|p = 5}} Tomomi Katsuta in the ''[[Mainichi Shimbun]]'' found ''Departures'' a meaningful story that made the viewer think about the different lives people live, and the significance of someone dying. Writing in the same newspaper, Takashi Suzuki thought the film memorable but predictable, and Yūji Takahashi opined that the film's ability to find nobility in a prejudiced subject was an excellent accomplishment.{{sfn|Katsuta|2008|p = 11}} Shōko Watanabe gave ''Departures'' four out of five stars in ''[[The Nikkei]]'' newspaper, praising the actors' unforced<!-- "さりげない" --> performances.{{sfn|Watanabe|2008|p = 20}}

Following the success of ''Departures'' at the Academy Awards, critic [[Saburō Kawamoto]] found the film to show a Japan that the Japanese could relate to, in that, in a nation whose customs put great weight on visits to ancestral graves,{{efn|It is a Japanese custom to make {{nihongo||墓参り|haka-mairi}} visits to the family {{nihongo||墓|haka}}, a grave monument to deceased ancestors.}} a death was always a family affair.  He believed the film had a samurai beauty to it, with its many scenes of families sitting ''[[seiza]]''.{{sfn|Tanabe|2009|p = 9}} Critic {{Interlanguage link|Yūichi Maeda|ja|3=前田有一}} gave the film a 90% rating, and credited the performances of the two leads for much of the film's success. He praised its emotional impact and its balance of seriousness and humour, but was more critical of the father–son relationship, which he considered overdone. Maeda attributed the film's international success, despite its heavily Japanese content, to its clear depiction of Japanese views on life and death. He found the film's conceptual scale to have an affinity to that of Hollywood (something he considered lacking in most Japanese films).{{sfn|Maeda 2008}}

Reviewer Takurō Yamaguchi gave the film an 85% rating, and found the treatment of its subject charming. He praised its quiet emotional impact and humour, the interweaving of northern Japan scenery with Hisaishi's cello score, and the film's Japanese spirit.{{sfn|Yamaguchi}} Media critic {{Interlanguage link|Sadao Yamane|ja|3=山根貞男}} found a moving beauty in the dextrous hand movements Sasaki teaches Daigo for preparing bodies, and believed that a prior reading of the original script would deepen the viewer's understanding of the action.{{sfn|Yamane|2012|p = 352}} Mark Schilling of ''[[The Japan Times]]'' gave the film four stars out of five, praising the acting though criticizing the apparent idealization of the encoffiners. He concluded that the film "makes a good case for the Japanese way of death."{{sfn|Schilling 2008, 'Okuribito'}}

====International reviews====
[[File:Roger Ebert cropped.jpg|thumb|The ''[[Chicago Sun-Times]]''{{'}} critic [[Roger Ebert]] gave ''Departures'' a perfect four stars.]]
Internationally, ''Departures'' has received mixed—mostly positive—reviews. Ebert gave the film a perfect four stars,{{sfn|Ebert, Departures}} describing it as "rock-solid in its fundamentals"{{sfn|Ebert, Great Movies}} and highlighting its cinematography, music, and the casting of Yamazaki as Sasaki. He found that the result "functions flawlessly" and is "excellent at achieving the universal ends of narrative".{{sfn|Ebert, Great Movies}} Derek Armstrong of [[AllMovie]] gave the film four stars out of five, describing it as "a film of lyrical beauty" which is "bursting with tiny pleasures".{{sfn|Armstrong}} In a four-star review, Byrnes described the film as a "moving meditation on the transience of life" which showed "great humanity", concluding "it's a beautiful film but take two hankies."{{sfn|Byrnes 2009}} Howell gave the film three stars out of four, praising its acting and cinematography. He wrote that ''Departures'' "quietly subverts aesthetic and emotional expectations" without ever losing its "high-minded intent".{{sfn|Howell 2009}} In a three-and-a-half star review, Claudia Puig of ''[[USA Today]]'' described ''Departures'' as a "beautifully composed" film which, although predictable, was "emotional, poignant" and "profoundly affecting".{{sfn|Puig 2009}}

[[Philip French]] of ''[[The Observer]]'' considered ''Departures'' to be a "moving, gently amusing" film, which the director had "fastidiously composed".{{Sfn|French 2009}} Sharkey found it an "emotionally wrenching trip with a quiet man", one which was well cast with "actors who move lightly, gracefully" in the various settings.{{sfn|Sharkey 2009}} In ''[[Entertainment Weekly]]'', [[Owen Gleiberman]] gave the film a B−, considering it "tender and, at times, rather squishy", though certain to affect anyone who had lost a parent.{{sfn|Gleiberman 2009}} Barber found ''Departures'' to be "heartfelt, unpretentious, [and] slyly funny", worth watching (though ultimately predictable).{{sfn|Barber 2009}} Mike Scott gave the film three and a half stars out of four, finding that it was "a surprisingly uplifting examination of life and loss", with humour which perfectly complemented the "moving and meaningful story", but lent itself to characters "mug[ging] for the camera".{{sfn|Mike Scott 2009}}

Meanwhile, [[Kevin Maher (writer)|Kevin Maher]] of ''[[The Times]]'' described ''Departures'' as a "''[[verklempt]]'' comedy" with wearisome "push-button crying", though he considered it saved by the quality of the acting, "stately" directing, and "dreamy" soundtrack.{{Sfn|Maher 2009}} Another mixed review was published in ''[[The Daily Telegraph]]'', which described the film as a "safe and emotionally generous crowd-pleaser" that was not worthy of its Academy Award.{{sfn|The Daily Telegraph 2009}} [[Philip Kennicott]] wrote in ''[[The Washington Post]]'' that the film was "as polished as it is heavy-handed", predictable yet ready to break taboos, immersed in death yet incapable of escaping "the maddening Japanese taste for sentimentality".{{sfn|Kennicott 2009}} In ''[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]'', Eddie Cockrell wrote that the film offered "fascinating glimpses" of the encoffining ceremony but should have had a much shorter runtime.{{sfn|Cockrell 2008}} Paatsch gave ''Departures'' three stars out of five, describing it as a "quaintly mournful flick" that "unfolds with a delicacy and precision that slowly captivates the viewer" but considering some scenes, such as the montage, "needlessly showy flourishes".{{sfn|Paatsch 2009}} Edward Porter of ''The Sunday Times'' wrote that the film's success at the Academy Awards could be blamed on "a case of the Academy favouring bland sentimentality".{{sfn|Potter 2009}}

''[[The A.V. Club]]''{{'s}} Keith Phipps gave ''Departures'' a C−, writing that though it featured "handsome shots of provincial life" and encoffining scenes with a "poetic quality", ultimately the film "drips from one overstated emotion to the next".{{sfn|Phipps 2009}} [[A. O. Scott]] wrote in ''[[The New York Times]]'' that the film was "perfectly mediocre", predictable, and banal in its combination of humour and melodrama. Despite its sometimes touching moments, he considered ''Departures'' "interesting mainly as an index of the Academy's hopelessly timid and conventional tastes".{{sfn|A. O. Scott 2009}} [[Tony Rayns]] of ''[[Film Comment]]'' gave a scathing review in which he denounced the script as "embarrassingly clunky and obvious", the acting as merely "adequate", and the film as but a "paean to the good-looking corpse".{{sfn|Rayns 2009}} Adams gave ''Departures'' two out of four stars, praising the emotionally and visually arresting scenes of encoffinments and "loving attention to the textures, tastes and behaviours of semi-rural Japan" but condemning the predictability of the plot; he wrote that "Forty-five minutes in, [viewers have] prepared a mental checklist of every turn that Daigo Kobayashi will face, then negotiate&nbsp;– and be danged if Takita doesn't deliver on every one".{{sfn|Adams 2009}}

===Awards===
{{Main|List of accolades received by Departures (2008 film)|l1=List of accolades received by ''Departures'' (2008 film)}}
At the [[32nd Japan Academy Prize]] ceremony held in February 2009, ''Departures'' dominated the competition. It received a total of thirteen nominations, winning ten, including [[Japan Academy Prize for Picture of the Year|Picture of the Year]], [[Japan Academy Prize for Screenplay of the Year|Screenplay of the Year]] (Koyama), [[Japan Academy Prize for Director of the Year|Director of the Year]] (Takita), and [[Japan Academy Prize for Outstanding Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role|Outstanding Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role]] (Motoki).<ref>{{harvnb|Kilday 2009, Regent}}; {{harvnb|Nippon Academy-shō Association, 2009}}.</ref> In the [[Japan Academy Prize for Outstanding Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role|Outstanding Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role]] category, Hirosue lost to [[Tae Kimura]] of ''[[All Around Us]]'', while in the Outstanding Achievement in Art Direction category ''Departures''{{'s}} Tomio Ogawa lost to ''[[Paco and the Magical Book]]''{{'s}} Towako Kuwashima. Hisaishi, nominated for two Outstanding Achievement in Music awards, won for his scoring of Studio Ghibli's animated film ''[[Ponyo]]''.{{sfn|Nippon Academy-shō Association, 2009}} In response to the wins, Motoki said "It feels as if everything miraculously came together in balance this time with Okuribito".{{efn|Original: {{lang|ja|今回の「おくりびと」っていうのはすべてのバランスが奇跡的につながっていったっていう感じがします。}} }}{{sfn|Nippon Academy-shō Association, 2009}}

''Departures'' was submitted to the [[81st Academy Awards]] as [[List of Japanese submissions for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film|Japan's submission]] for the [[Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film|Best Foreign Language Film]] award. Although eleven previous Japanese films had won [[Academy Awards]] in other categories, such as [[Academy Award for Best Animated Feature|Best Animated Feature]] or [[Academy Award for Best Costume Design|Best Costume Design]], the as-yet unattained Best Foreign Language Film award was highly coveted in the Japanese film industry.{{efn|name=A}}{{sfn|Sapia staff|2009}} ''Departures'' was not expected to win, owing to strong competition from the Israeli and French submissions ([[Ari Folman]]'s ''[[Waltz with Bashir]]'' and [[Laurent Cantet]]'s ''[[The Class (2008 film)|The Class]]'', respectively), but was ultimately the victor at the February 2009 ceremony.{{sfn|Olsen 2009}} This was considered a surprise by several film critics,<ref>{{harvnb|Adams 2009}}; {{harvnb|Armstrong}}; {{harvnb|Howell 2009}}.</ref> and ''The New York Times''{{'s}} [[David Itzkoff]] termed ''Departures'' "The Film That Lost Your Oscars Pool for You".{{sfn|Itzkoff 2009}} Motoki, who was expecting the "wonderful" Israeli submission to win, was also surprised; he described himself as a "hanger-on who just observes the ceremony", and regretted "not walk[ing] with more confidence" upon his arrival.{{efn|''Departures'' was not the only Japanese film to receive an Academy Award in the 2009 ceremony; [[Kunio Katō]]'s ''[[La Maison en Petits Cubes]]'' took the [[Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film]] {{harv|Tourtellotte|Reynolds|2009}}.}}{{sfn|Tourtellotte|Reynolds|2009}}

''Departures'' received recognition at a variety of film festivals, including the Audience Choice Award at the 28th [[Hawaii International Film Festival]], the Audience Choice Award at the 15th [[Vilnius International Film Festival]], the Grand Prix des Amériques at the 32nd Montreal World Film Festival,{{sfn|Kilday 2009, Regent}} and Best Narrative Film at the 20th [[Palm Springs International Film Festival]].{{sfn|Kilday 2009, Palm Springs}} Motoki was selected as best actor at several ceremonies, including at the [[3rd Asian Film Awards|Asian Film Awards]],{{sfn|Asian Film Awards}} the [[Asia Pacific Screen Awards]],{{sfn|APSA, 2009 Winners}} and the [[Blue Ribbon Awards]];{{sfn|Sports Nippon staff|2009}} he was also viewers' choice for best actor at the [[Golden Rooster Awards]].<ref>{{harvnb|Oricon staff|2008}}; {{harvnb|Ping and Ying 2008}}.</ref> At the 29th [[Hong Kong Film Award]]s, ''Departures'' was selected as Best Asian Film, beating three Chinese films <!--([[Lu Chuan]]'s ''[[City of Life and Death]]'', [[Huang Jianxin]]'s ''[[The Founding of a Republic]]'', and the [[Chen Kuo-Fu]]–[[Gao Qunshu]] co-production ''[[The Message (2009 film)|The Message]]''),--> and ''Ponyo''.{{sfn|Hong Kong Film Awards Association}} Following the 21st [[Nikkan Sports Film Award]] ceremony, in which ''Departures'' won Best Film and Best Director, Takita expressed surprise at the film's awards, saying "I did not know how well my work would be accepted."{{efn|Original: "「作品がどういうふうに受け入れられるか分からなかった」と。"}}{{sfn|Nikkan Sports, Best Film}} By December 2009 the film had won 98 awards.{{sfn|Schilling 2009, A decade}}

===Impact===
After the film's success, Sakata Location Box set up a hospitality service called ''Mukaebito''—a pun on the film's Japanese title indicating "one who greets or picks up" another, rather than "one who sends off". The service maintains shooting locations and provides maps of these locations for tourists.{{sfn|Hagiwara|2009|p = 9}} In 2009, Location Box opened the building that served as the NK Agent office to the public.{{sfn|Yomiuri Shimbun staff|2014}} For a fee, visitors could enter and view props from the film. Under a job creation program, between 2009 and 2013 the organization received ¥30 million from Yamagata Prefecture and ¥8 million from Sakata City for the building's maintenance and administration.{{sfn|Yamagata News Online staff|2014}} The site attracted nearly 120,000 visitors in 2009, though numbers quickly fell; in 2013 there were fewer than 9,000 visitors. Safety fears due to the building's age led to the Sakata municipal government ending the organization's lease, and the building was closed again at the end of March 2014. At the time, the City Tourism division was considering options, such as limiting visits to the first two floors.{{sfn|Yomiuri Shimbun staff|2014}} The building used as the Concerto café has been open to the public since 2009 as the Kaminoyama Concerto Museum,{{sfn|Yamagata Community Shinbun staff|2009}} and the Sakata Minato-za cinema has also been opened to tourists.{{sfn|Yamagata Television System staff|2009}} Takita's hometown of [[Takaoka, Toyama]], maintains a Film Resources Museum; staff have reported that at times over a hundred Takita fans visit per day.{{sfn|Takabe|Wakatsuki|2009|p = 3}}

The film's success generated greater interest in encoffining and the ''{{transliteration|ja|nōkanshi}}''.{{sfn|Moore 2009}} Even the model of hearse driven in the film was merchandised: the Mitsuoka Limousine Type 2-04, a smaller, less expensive version of the film's vehicle, was put on the market on 24 February 2009. The manufacturer, [[Mitsuoka|Mitsuoka Motors]], is located in Takita's home prefecture of Toyama.<ref>{{harvnb|Sōma|2009|p=1}}; {{harvnb|Kyodo News Staff|2009}}.</ref> In 2013, Kouki Kimura, from a family of ''{{transliteration|ja|nōkanshi}}'', founded the Okuribito Academy together with nurse and entrepreneur Kei Takamaru. It offers training in encoffining, embalming, and related practices.{{sfn|Aera staff|2013}}

==See also==
*[[Cinema of Japan]]
* [[List of submissions to the 81st Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film]]
* [[List of Japanese submissions for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film]]

==Explanatory notes==
{{Notelist}}

==References==
{{Reflist|colwidth=20em}}

==Works cited==

{{Refbegin|colwidth=40em}}
* {{cite news |ref={{SfnRef|Adams 2009}} |title=What a nice funeral&nbsp;– and dull too |date=11 June 2009 |work=The Globe and Mail |location=Toronto |last=Adams |first=James |url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/departures/article786752/ |access-date=24 May 2014 }}
* {{cite news
 |author       = ''Aera'' staff
 |title        = Jakkan 31-sai no kōchō ga 'Okuribito Akademī' ni kaketa omoi
 |script-title = ja:弱冠31歳の校長が「おくりびとアカデミー」に懸けた思い
 |trans-title  = Youthful 31-year-old President Thoughts on Building the 'Okuribito Academy'
 |work         = [[Aera (magazine)|Aera]]
 |language     = ja
 |location     = Osaka
 |date         = 30 September 2013
 |url          = http://dot.asahi.com/aera/2013100200038.html
 |access-date  = 20 June 2014
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20131005075938/http://dot.asahi.com/aera/2013100200038.html
 |archive-date = 5 October 2013
}}
* {{cite web |title=Departures (review) |first=Derek |last=Armstrong |work=Allmovie |url=http://www.allmovie.com/movie/departures-v468277/review |publisher=Rovi |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140523140314/http://www.allmovie.com/movie/departures-v468277/review |access-date=24 May 2014 |archive-date=23 May 2014 }}
* {{cite news
 |author       = ''Asahi Shimbun'' staff
 |title        = Bei Akademī-shō wo jushō sita, eiga ''Okuribito'' taibō no butaika eiga no sono ato wo egaku, aratana kandō no monogatari
 |script-title = ja:米国アカデミー賞を受賞した、映画「おくりびと」待望の舞台化映画のその後を描く、新たな感動の物語
 |trans-title  = Academy Award-winning ''Departures'' Hoped-for Theatrical Adaptation Depicting What Happens After the Movie, A New Moving Tale
 |location     = Osaka
 |publisher    = [[Asahi Shimbun]]
 |language     = ja
 |work         = Doraku
 |date         = 2 April 2010
 |access-date  = 20 June 2014
 |url          = http://doraku.asahi.com/entertainment/stagenavi/info/100402.html
 |archive-date = 12 May 2013
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20130512082501/http://doraku.asahi.com/entertainment/stagenavi/info/100402.html
}}
* {{cite web |ref={{SfnRef|APSA, 2009 Winners}} |title=2009 Winners Announced |url=http://www.asiapacificscreenacademy.com/2009/11/2009-winners-annouced/ |author=Asia Pacific Screen Academy |publisher=Asia Pacific Screen Academy |location=Brisbane |date=26 November 2009 |archive-date=29 November 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141129025046/http://www.asiapacificscreenacademy.com/2009/11/2009-winners-annouced/ |access-date=8 June 2014 }}
* {{Cite web |location=Hong Kong |author=Asian Film Awards |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141006134807/http://www.asianfilmawards.asia/2009/eng/nominations.php |archive-date=6 October 2014 |ref={{SfnRef|Asian Film Awards}} |url=http://www.asianfilmawards.asia/2009/eng/nominations.php#b3 |title=3rd AFA Nominees and Winners |access-date=4 June 2014 |date=2009 |publisher=Asian Film Awards }}
* {{Cite news |ref={{sfnRef|Barber 2009}} |title=Departures (12A) |last=Barber |first=Nicholas |work=The Independent |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/reviews/departures-12a-1834873.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140121200331/http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/reviews/departures-12a-1834873.html |archive-date=21 January 2014 |date=6 December 2009 |access-date=24 May 2014 |location=London }}
* {{cite web 
 |author=''Billboard Japan'' staff 
 |work=Billboard Japan 
 |title=''Okuribito'' orijinaru ・ saundotorakku 
 |script-title=ja:おくりびと オリジナル・サウンドトラック 
 |trans-title=''Departures'' Original Soundtrack 
 |language=ja 
 |url=http://www.billboard-japan.com/goods/detail/229796 
 |access-date=8 June 2014 
 |archive-date=14 July 2014 
 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140714130757/http://www.billboard-japan.com/goods/detail/229796 
 |ref={{SfnRef|Billboard Japan}} 
 }}
* {{cite web 
 |last1=Blair 
 |first1=Gavin J. 
 |work=Hollywood Reporter 
 |title='Departures' welcomed at Japan boxoffice 
 |url=http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/departures-welcomed-japan-boxoffice-82244 
 |date=13 April 2009 
 |location=Los Angeles 
 |access-date=15 June 2014 
 |archive-date=19 August 2014 
 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140819140700/http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/departures-welcomed-japan-boxoffice-82244 
 |ref={{SfnRef|Blair 2009, 'Departures' welcomed}} 
 }}
* {{cite web 
 |last1=Blair 
 |first1=Gavin J. 
 |work=Hollywood Reporter 
 |title=Yojiro Takita looks for foreign opportunities 
 |url=http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/yojiro-takita-foreign-opportunities-82439 
 |date=16 April 2009 
 |location=Los Angeles 
 |access-date=15 June 2014 
 |archive-date=19 August 2014 
 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140819135823/http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/yojiro-takita-foreign-opportunities-82439 
 |ref={{SfnRef|Blair 2009, Yojiro Takita}} 
 }}
* {{cite web 
 |last1=Blair 
 |first1=Gavin J. 
 |work=Hollywood Reporter 
 |title=Departures (Japan) 
 |url=http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/departures-japan-77301 
 |date=1 July 2009 
 |location=Los Angeles 
 |access-date=15 June 2014 
 |archive-date=19 August 2014 
 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140819033137/http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/departures-japan-77301 
 |ref={{SfnRef|Blair 2009, Departures (Japan)}} 
 }}
* {{cite news 
 |last1=Blair 
 |first1=Iain 
 |title=Just a Minute With: Japan's Oscar-winning Yojiro Takita 
 |url=http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-takita-idUKTRE54R21A20090528 
 |work=[[Reuters]] 
 |date=28 May 2009 
 |archive-date=15 June 2014 
 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140615093907/http://uk.reuters.com/article/2009/05/28/us-takita-idUKTRE54R21A20090528 
 |access-date=15 June 2009 
 |ref={{sfnRef|Blair 2009, Just a Minute}} 
 |url-status=dead
 }}
* {{cite web
 |title        = Departures
 |url          = http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?page=main&id=departures.htm
 |website      = Box Office Mojo
 |access-date  = 22 May 2014
 |archive-date = 22 May 2014
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20140522124023/http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?page=main&id=departures.htm
 |ref          = {{SfnRef|''Box Office Mojo''}}
}}
* {{cite web |author=British Board of Film Classification |location=London |ref={{SfnRef|British Board of Film Classification}} |title=Departures |url=http://www.bbfc.co.uk/AFF263665/ |publisher=[[British Board of Film Classification]] |date=5 October 2009 |archive-date=22 May 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140522180814/http://www.bbfc.co.uk/releases/departures-film |access-date=24 November 2012 }}
* {{cite web |ref={{sfnRef|Byrnes 2009}} |title=Departures |last=Byrnes |first=Paul |date=12 October 2009 |work=The Sydney Morning Herald |access-date=23 May 2014 |location=Sydney |archive-date=19 August 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140819102048/http://www.smh.com.au/news/entertainment/film/film-reviews/departures/2009/10/12/1255195735706.html?page=fullpage |url=http://www.smh.com.au/news/entertainment/film/film-reviews/departures/2009/10/12/1255195735706.html?page=fullpage#contentSwap1 }}
* {{cite web
 |author       = ''CinemaCafé.net'' staff
 |title        = ''Okuribito'' imēji songu de AI×Hisaishi Jō ni yoru ishoku no coraborēshon ga jitsugen!
 |script-title = ja:『おくりびと』イメージソングでAI×久石譲による異色のコラボレーションが実現！
 |trans-title  = Ai and Joe Hisaishi Realize Novel Collaboration with ''Departures'' Image Song
 |date         = 31 July 2008
 |url          = http://www.cinemacafe.net/article/2008/07/31/4377.html
 |access-date  = 11 June 2014
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20150604163332/http://www.cinemacafe.net/article/2008/07/31/4377.html
 |archive-date = 4 June 2015
 |language     = ja
 |location     = Tokyo
 |work         = CinemaCafé.net
}}
* {{cite web
 |author       = Cinema Topics Online staff
 |title        = Hon'nendo eiga-shō souname!! ''Okuribito'' iyoiyo 3-gatsu 18-nichi (sui) DVD rirīsu!
 |script-title = ja:本年度映画賞総なめ!!『おくりびと』いよいよ３月18日（水）ＤＶＤリリース！
 |trans-title  = This Year Swept the Film Awards!! ''Departures'' Finally to be Released 18 March!
 |work         = Cinema Topics Online
 |date         = 20 January 2009
 |language     = ja
 |location     = Tokyo
 |url          = http://www.cinematopics.com/cinema/news/output.php?news_seq=7949
 |access-date  = 3 June 2014
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20141129015702/http://www.cinematopics.com/cinema/news/output.php?news_seq=7949
 |archive-date = 29 November 2014
}}
* {{cite news |ref={{sfnRef|Cockrell 2008}} |work=Variety |location=Los Angeles |date=2 September 2008 |url=https://variety.com/2008/film/reviews/departures-2-1200471064/ |title=Review: 'Departures' |access-date=24 May 2014 |first=Eddie |last=Cockrell }}
* {{Cite news |ref={{sfnRef|The Daily Telegraph 2009}} |author=''The Daily Telegraph'' staff |title=Departures, review |work=The Daily Telegraph |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/film/filmreviews/6719730/Departures-review.html |date=3 December 2009 |archive-date=29 January 2014 |location=London |access-date=24 May 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140129113107/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/film/filmreviews/6719730/Departures-review.html }}
* {{cite web
 |last         = Danielsen
 |first        = Shane
 |title        = Oscar race a big deal for small countries
 |date         = 4 December 2009
 |url          = https://variety.com/2009/film/news/oscar-race-a-big-deal-for-small-countries-1118012258/
 |access-date  = 14 June 2014
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20141230214316/http://variety.com/2009/film/news/oscar-race-a-big-deal-for-small-countries-1118012258/
 |archive-date = 30 December 2014
 |work         = Variety
 |location     = Los Angeles
 |ref          = {{sfnRef|Danielsen}}
}}
* {{Cite news |ref={{sfnRef|Ebert, Departures}} |last=Ebert |first=Roger |title=Departures |url=http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/departures-2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140525195926/http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/departures-2009 |location=Chicago |archive-date=25 May 2014 |access-date=24 May 2014 |work=rogerebert.com |date=27 May 2014 }}
* {{cite web |ref={{sfnRef|Ebert, Great Movies}} |last=Ebert |first=Roger |location=Chicago |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140703103806/http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/great-movie-departures-2009 |archive-date=3 July 2014 |url=http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20111205/REVIEWS08/111209995/1004 |title=Departures (2009) |work=rogerebert.com |date=5 December 2011 |access-date=5 December 2011 }}
* {{cite web
 |author       = ''Eiga Ranking Dot Com'' staff
 |title        = ''Okuribito'' no shōryaku jōhō
 |script-title = ja:『おくりびと』の詳細情報
 |trans-title  = More details on ''Departures''
 |language     = ja
 |work         = Eiga Ranking Dot Com
 |url          = http://www.eiga-ranking.com/movie/10093.html
 |access-date  = 23 May 2014
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20150430152301/http://www.eiga-ranking.com/movie/10093.html
 |archive-date = 30 April 2015
}}
* {{cite web
 |last         = Frater
 |first        = Patrick
 |title        = ContentFilm nabs 'Departures' rights
 |work         = Variety
 |location     = Los Angeles
 |date         = 10 November 2008
 |url          = https://variety.com/2008/film/news/contentfilm-nabs-departures-rights-1117995619/
 |access-date  = 14 June 2014
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20141230214113/http://variety.com/2008/film/news/contentfilm-nabs-departures-rights-1117995619/
 |archive-date = 30 December 2014
 |ref          = {{sfnRef|Frater 2008}}
}}
* {{Cite news |ref={{SfnRef|French 2009}} |last=French |first=Philip |work=The Observer |date=6 December 2009 |title=Departures |url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2009/dec/06/departures-japan-funeral-oscars |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131221123926/http://www.theguardian.com/film/2009/dec/06/departures-japan-funeral-oscars |archive-date=21 December 2013 |access-date=24 May 2014 |location=London }}
* {{cite news
|last        = Fukunaga<!-- 福永聖二 -->
|first       = Seiji
|title       = Yūmoa no aru shi no monogatari
|script-title=ja:ユーモアのある死の物語
|trans-title = A Tale about Death with a Sense of Humour
|page        = 11
|language    = ja
|newspaper   = [[Yomiuri Shimbun]]
|location    = Tokyo
|date        = 12 September 2008
|edition     = Evening
}}
* {{cite magazine |ref={{sfnRef|Gleiberman 2009}} |title=Departures |last=Gleiberman |first=Owen |magazine=Entertainment Weekly |location=New York |url=http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20281266,00.html |archive-date=27 May 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140527230109/http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20281266,00.html |access-date=24 May 2014 |date=27 May 2009 }}
* {{cite web
 |last        = Gray
 |first       = Jason
 |title       = Departures tops Japanese box office following Oscar win
 |date        = 27 February 2009
 |location    = London
 |url         = http://www.screendaily.com/departures-tops-japanese-box-office-following-oscar-win/4043460.article
 |work        = Screen Daily
 |access-date = 3 June 2014
 |url-access  = subscription
}}
* {{cite journal
 |last         = Hagiwara
 |first        = Kichirō
 |title        = Eiga ''Okuribito'' soshite ''Mukaebito'' toshite
 |script-title = ja:映画「おくりびと」そして「むかえびと」として
 |trans-title  = The Film ''Departures'', then as ''Pick-ups''
 |pages        = 8–9
 |language     = ja
 |location     = Yamagata
 |journal      = Future Sight
 |date         = Spring 2009
 |issue        = 44
 |url          = http://www.f-ric.co.jp/fs/200904/08-09.pdf
 |access-date  = 10 June 2014
 |archive-date = 14 July 2014
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20140714170445/http://www.f-ric.co.jp/fs/200904/08-09.pdf
 |url-status   = dead
}}
* {{cite web
 |last         = Hale
 |first        = Mike
 |title        = From 'Pink Films' to Oscar Gold
 |url          = https://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/17/movies/17hale.html?_r=1&
 |work         = The New York Times
 |date         = 15 May 2009
 |location     = New York
 |access-date  = 15 June 2014
 |archive-date = 22 August 2023
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20230822184023/https://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/17/movies/17hale.html?_r=1&
 |ref          = {{sfnRef|Hale 2009}}
}}
* {{cite journal 
 |last=Handa 
 |first=Takuya 
 |title=ソール・ベロー序論: 死生観と『おくりびと』を中心に(I) 
 |trans-title=Saul Bellow's View of Life and Death with Special Reference to Okuribito (1) 
 |language=ja 
 |journal=Fukuoka University Review of Literature & Humanities 
 |volume=42 
 |issue=1 
 |pages=57–82 
 |date=June 2010 
 |location=Fukuoka 
 |publisher=[[Fukuoka University]] 
 |url=http://www.adm.fukuoka-u.ac.jp/fu844/home2/Ronso/Jinbun/L42-1/L4201_0057.pdf 
 |issn=0285-2764 
 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140605051854/http://www.adm.fukuoka-u.ac.jp/fu844/home2/Ronso/Jinbun/L42-1/L4201_0057.pdf 
 |archive-date=5 June 2014 
 }}
* {{Cite web |ref={{sfnRef|Hong Kong Film Awards Association}} |author=Hong Kong Film Awards Association staff |script-title=zh:第29屆香港電影金像獎得獎名單 |title=Dì 29 jiè xiānggǎng diànyǐng jīn xiàng jiǎng dé jiǎng míngdān |trans-title=List of Winners at the 29th Hong Kong Film Awards |location=Hong Kong |language=zh |publisher=Hong Kong Film Awards Association |url=http://www.hkfaa.com/winnerlist29.html |access-date=8 June 2014 |archive-date=15 May 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140515081759/http://www.hkfaa.com/winnerlist29.html }}
* {{cite book
 |last         = Hosaka<!-- 保坂 隆 -->
 |first        = Takashi
 |title        = Isha ga kangaeru "migoto"-na saiki no mukaekata
 |script-title = ja:医者が考える「見事」な最期の迎え方
 |trans-title  = What a Doctor Thinks is a "Splendid" Way of Facing End-of-Life
 |url          = https://books.google.com/books?id=j9BxAgAAQBAJ
 |year         = 2014
 |isbn         = 978-4-04-110667-9
 |location     = Tokyo
 |publisher    = Kakukawa Shoten
 |language     = ja
}}
* {{cite news |ref={{SfnRef|Howell 2009}} |title=Departures: Sentimental journey |work=Toronto Star |location=Toronto |url=https://www.thestar.com/news/2009/06/12/departures_sentimental_journey.html |last=Howell |first=Peter |access-date=24 May 2014 |archive-date=25 May 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140525213908/http://www.thestar.com/news/2009/06/12/departures_sentimental_journey.html |date=12 June 2009 }}
* {{cite web
 |last         = Ide
 |first        = Kenji
 |title        = Dai 38-kai eiga ''Okuribito'' to nihonjin no shiseikan
 |script-title = ja:第３８回 映画「おくりびと」と日本人の死生観
 |trans-title  = No. 38: The Film "Departures" and Japanese Views of Life and Death
 |language     = ja
 |url          = http://japanese.china.org.cn/jp/ide/2009-03/03/content_17364403.htm
 |work         = [[China Internet Information Center]]
 |date         = 3 March 2009
 |access-date  = 3 June 2014
}}
* {{cite web
 |last         = Itzkoff
 |first        = Dave
 |title        = 'Departures': The Film That Lost Your Oscars Pool for You
 |url          = http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/02/23/departures-the-film-that-lost-your-oscars-pool-for-you/?_php=true&_type=blogs&_php=true&_type=blogs&_r=1
 |work         = The New York Times
 |date         = 23 February 2009
 |access-date  = 15 June 2014
 |archive-date = 15 June 2014
 |location     = New York
 |archive-url  = https://archive.today/20140615151413/http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/02/23/departures-the-film-that-lost-your-oscars-pool-for-you/?_php=true&_type=blogs&_php=true&_type=blogs&_r=1
 |ref          = {{sfnRef|Itzkoff 2009}}
}}
* {{cite news
|last        = Iwata
|first       = Mayuko
|title       = Shi no fūkei ha kiyoku utsukushii
|script-title=ja:死の風景は清く美しい
|trans-title = Scenes of Death are Pure Beauty
|page        = 8
|language    = ja
|location    = Nagoya
|newspaper   = [[Chunichi Shimbun]]
|date        = 12 September 2008
|edition     = Evening
}}
* {{cite news
|last        = Katsuta <!-- 勝田友巳 -->
|first       = Tomomi
|title       = ''Ikigami''/''Okuribito''
|script-title=ja:イキガミ/おくりびと
|trans-title = ''Ikigami''/''Okuribito''
|page        = 11
|location    = Tokyo
|language    = ja
|newspaper   = [[Mainichi Shimbun]]
|date        = 12 September 2008
|edition     = Evening
}}
* {{cite news |ref={{sfnRef|Kennicott 2009}} |archive-date=6 June 2014 |title=Departures |last=Kennicott |first=Philip |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/gog/movies/departures,1156551.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140606204713/http://www.washingtonpost.com/gog/movies/departures,1156551.html |access-date=24 May 2014 |location=Washington, D.C. |newspaper=The Washington Post }}
* {{cite web |ref={{sfnRef|Kilday 2009, Palm Springs}} |location=Los Angeles |title=Palm Springs picks 'Departures' |last=Kilday |first=Gregg |url=http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/palm-springs-picks-departures-77861 |work=Hollywood Reporter |date=19 January 2009 |archive-date=11 June 2014 |access-date=4 June 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140611010258/http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/palm-springs-picks-departures-77861 }}
* {{cite web |ref={{SfnRef|Kilday 2009, Regent}} |location=Los Angeles |url=http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/regent-acquires-departures-rights-77146 |work=Hollywood Reporter |first=Gregg |last=Kilday |date=5 May 2009 |title=Regent acquires 'Departures' rights |access-date=4 June 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140611010315/http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/regent-acquires-departures-rights-77146 |archive-date=11 June 2014 }}
* {{cite journal
 |last         = Kim
 |first        = Hyunchul
 |title        = The Purification Process of Death: Mortuary Rites in a Japanese Rural Town
 |url          = http://nirc.nanzan-u.ac.jp/nfile/4216
 |year         = 2002
 |volume       = 71
 |issue        = 2
 |location     = Aichi
 |journal      = Asian Ethnology
 |access-date  = 3 June 2014
 |archive-date = 15 June 2013
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20130615062654/http://nirc.nanzan-u.ac.jp/nfile/4216
 |url-status   = dead
}}
* {{cite web
 |title        = ''Okuribito''
 |script-title = ja:おくりびと
 |trans-title  = Departures
 |language     = ja
 |work         = [[Kinema Junpo]]
 |url          = http://www.kinenote.com/main/public/cinema/detail.aspx?cinema_id=39331
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20190710080534/http://www.kinenote.com/main/public/cinema/detail.aspx?cinema_id=39331&key_search=%E3%81%8A%E3%81%8F%E3%82%8A%E3%81%B3%E3%81%A8
 |archive-date = 10 July 2019
 |access-date  = 30 May 2014
 |location     = Tokyo
 |author       = ''Kinema Junpo'' staff
 |ref          = {{SfnRef|Kinema Junpo}}
}}
* {{cite web |last=Kobayashi |first=Chiho |ref={{SfnRef|Nikkan Sports, Best Film}} |script-title=ja:作品賞＆監督賞ー「おくりびと」滝田洋二郎監督 |title=Sakuhin-shō & kantoku-shō—''Okuribito'' Takita Yōjirō kantoku |location=Tokyo |trans-title=Best Film and Best Director Awards—''Departures'' Director Yōjirō Takita |language=ja |work=Nikkan Sports |date=4 December 2008 |url=http://www.nikkansports.com/entertainment/cinema/ns-cinema/2008/report/report01-1.html |access-date=8 June 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140714221824/http://www.nikkansports.com/entertainment/cinema/ns-cinema/2008/report/report01-1.html |archive-date=14 July 2014 }}
* {{cite news 
 |author=Kyodo News Staff 
 |title=Mitsuoka Jidōsha no reikyūsha "Okuriguruma" wo hatsubai 
 |script-title=ja:光岡自動車の霊きゅう車 「おくりぐるま」を発売 
 |trans-title=Mitsuoka Motors' ''Okuribito'' Hearse to be Put on Sale 
 |publisher=[[Kyodo News]] 
 |work=47new 
 |language=ja 
 |location=Tokyo 
 |date=24 February 2009 
 |access-date=3 June 2014 
 |url=http://www.47news.jp/CN/200902/CN2009022401000413.html 
 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090227075051/http://www.47news.jp/CN/200902/CN2009022401000413.html 
 |archive-date=27 February 2009 
 }}
* {{cite web
 |last         = Maeda
 |first        = Yūichi
 |title        = ''Okuribito'' 90-ten (100-ten manten-chū)
 |script-title = ja:『おくりびと』90点（100点満点中）
 |trans-title  = ''Departures'' 90/100
 |work         = 超映画批評
 |language     = ja
 |url          = http://movie.maeda-y.com/movie/01175.htm
 |access-date  = 1 June 2014
 |date         = 13 September 2008
 |ref          = {{SfnRef|Maeda 2008}}
}}
* {{cite web |ref={{sfnRef|Maher 2009}} |last=Maher |title=Departures |location=London |first=Kevin |url=http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/film/film_reviews/article6941189.ece |work=The Times |date=6 December 2009 |access-date=23 May 2014 |url-access=subscription }}{{dead link|date=September 2024|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}
* {{cite web 
 |last=Mathews 
 |first=Jeremy 
 |title=Departures 
 |work=DVD Talk 
 |publisher=Internet Brands 
 |archive-date=25 May 2014 
 |url=http://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/42146/departures/ 
 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140525195949/http://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/42146/departures/ 
 |date=12 January 2010 
 |access-date=23 May 2014 
 }}
* {{cite web |author=''Metacritic'' staff |ref={{sfnRef|Metacritic}} |url=http://www.metacritic.com/movie/departures |title=Departures Reviews |work=Metacritic |access-date=12 May 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150122201159/http://www.metacritic.com/movie/departures |archive-date=22 January 2015 }}
* {{cite web|ref={{sfnRef|MMPAJ}}|author=Motion Picture Producers Association of Japan staff|url=http://www.eiren.org/academy/data.html|script-title=ja:出品作品・受賞歴|title=Shuppin sakuhin ・ jushō-reki|trans-title=Exhibition of Works and Awards|language=ja|publisher=Motion Picture Producers Association of Japan|location=Tokyo|access-date=22 May 2014}}
* {{cite journal 
 |last=Mullins 
 |first=Mark R. 
 |title=From ''Departures'' to ''Yasukuni Shrine'': Caring for the Dead and the Bereaved in Contemporary Japanese Society 
 |journal=Japanese Religions 
 |year=2010 
 |pages=101–112 
 |volume=35 
 |issue=1 & 2 
 |location=Kyoto 
 |publisher=NCC Center for the Study of Japanese Religions 
 |url=http://japanese-religions.jp/publications/assets/JR35%201&2_Mullins.pdf 
 |access-date=3 June 2014 
 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141126102948/http://japanese-religions.jp/publications/assets/JR35%201%262_Mullins.pdf 
 |archive-date=26 November 2014 
 }}
* {{cite web 
 |last=Moore 
 |first=Roger 
 |title=The dirty little secret of Oscar winner 'Departures' 
 |url=http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/orl-departures-director-yojiro-takita-052909-story.html 
 |work=Los Angeles Times 
 |date=10 July 2009 
 |access-date=15 June 2014 
 |location=Los Angeles 
 |archive-date=19 August 2014 
 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140819114052/http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/orl-departures-director-yojiro-takita-052909-story.html 
 |ref={{sfnRef|Moore 2009}} 
 }}
* {{Cite web |ref={{SfnRef|Nippon Academy-shō Association, 2000}} |author=Nippon Academy-shō Association staff |publisher=Nippon Academy-shō Association |url=http://www.japan-academy-prize.jp/prizes/?t=23 |location=Tokyo |language=ja |script-title=ja:第23回日本アカデミー賞優秀作品 |title=Dai 23-kai Nihon Akademī-shō yūshū sakuhin |trans-title=23rd Japan Academy Prize |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141031043947/http://www.japan-academy-prize.jp/prizes/?t=23 |archive-date=31 October 2014 |access-date=21 August 2014 }}
* {{Cite web |ref={{SfnRef|Nippon Academy-shō Association, 2009}} |author=Nippon Academy-shō Association staff |publisher=Nippon Academy-shō Association |url=http://www.japan-academy-prize.jp/prizes/?t=32 |location=Tokyo |language=ja |script-title=ja:第32回日本アカデミー賞優秀作品 |title=Dai 32-kai Nihon Akademī-shō yūshū sakuhin |trans-title=32nd Japan Academy Prize |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140714155924/http://www.japan-academy-prize.jp/prizes/?t=32 |archive-date=14 July 2014 |access-date=4 June 2014 }}
* {{cite journal
|last        = Nomura <!-- 野村正昭 -->
|first       = Masaaki
|title       = Intābyū: Takita Yōjirō
|script-title=ja:インタービュー：滝田洋二郎
|trans-title = Interview: Yōjirō Takita
|journal     = Kinema Junpō
|language    = ja
|location    = Tokyo
|pages       = 58–61
|issue       = 1516
|date        = 15 September 2008
}}
* {{cite journal 
 |last=Okuyama 
 |first=Yoshiko 
 |title=Shinto and Buddhist Metaphors in Departures 
 |url=http://digitalcommons.unomaha.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1065&context=jrf 
 |journal=Journal of Religion and Film 
 |date=April 2013 
 |volume=17 
 |issue=1 
 |article-number=39 
 |issn=1092-1311 
 |publisher=University of Nebraska Omaha 
 |location=Omaha 
 |access-date=5 October 2022 
 }}
* {{cite web
 |last         = Olsen
 |first        = Mark
 |title        = Yojiro Takita's 'Departures' has a surprising journey
 |url          = http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/la-et-oscarforeignfilm23-2009feb23-story.html
 |work         = Los Angeles Times
 |date         = 24 May 2009
 |access-date  = 15 June 2014
 |archive-date = 13 September 2015
 |url-status   = live
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20150913183543/http://articles.latimes.com/2009/may/24/entertainment/ca-indie24
 |ref          = {{sfnRef|Olsen 2009}}
}}
* {{cite web
 |author       = Oricon staff
 |title        = Motoki Masahiro, jibun ga okurareru koro "ōnen no meisaku" to natta ''Okuribito'' mitai
 |script-title = ja:本木雅弘、自分がおくられる頃"往年の名作"となった「おくりびと」観たい
 |trans-title  = Masahiro Motoki, When it is His Time to Depart, he Wants to See his "Old Classic" ''Departures''
 |date         = 14 September 2008
 |work         = [[Oricon]]
 |language     = ja
 |location     = Tokyo
 |url          = http://www.oricon.co.jp/news/58100/full/
 |access-date  = 8 June 2014
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20141202080100/http://www.oricon.co.jp/news/58100/full/
 |archive-date = 2 December 2014
}}
* {{Cite news |ref={{sfnRef|Paatsch 2009}} |title=Film review&nbsp;– Departures |last=Paatsch |first=Leigh |work=Herald Sun |url=http://www.heraldsun.com.au/entertainment/movies/film-review-departures/story-e6frf8r6-1225786762071 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20140523152527/http://www.heraldsun.com.au/entertainment/movies/film-review-departures/story-e6frf8r6-1225786762071 |date=14 October 2009 |archive-date=23 May 2014 |location=Melbourne |access-date=23 May 2014 }}
* {{cite book
 |last         = Pharr
 |first        = Susan J.
 |chapter      = Burakumin Protest: The Incident at Yōka High School
 |pages        = 133–145
 |title        = Race, Ethnicity and Migration in Modern Japan: Indigenous and Colonial Others
 |editor-first = Michael
 |editor-last  = Weiner
 |isbn         = 978-0-415-20856-7
 |location     = London
 |chapter-url  = https://books.google.com/books?id=NxGTRiFdNQgC&pg=PA133
 |year         = 2006
 |publisher    = Routledge
}}
*{{cite web |ref={{sfnRef|Phipps 2009}} |work=The A.V. Club |location=Chicago |url=http://www.avclub.com/review/departures-28528 |date=28 May 2009 |last=Phipps |first=Keith |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140524004202/http://www.avclub.com/review/departures-28528 |title=Departures |archive-date=24 May 2014 |access-date=23 May 2014 }}
*{{cite web |ref={{sfnRef|Ping and Ying 2008}} |url=http://news.163.com/08/0913/07/4LN1H0MC000120GU.html |script-title=zh:金鸡国际影展举行颁奖典礼 |title=Jīnjī guójì yǐngzhǎn jǔxíng bānjiǎng diǎnlǐ |first1=Yan |last1=Ping |first2=Bai |last2=Ying |location=Guangzhou |language=zh |trans-title=Rooster International Film Festival Awards Ceremony Held |date=13 September 2008 |publisher=NetEase |work=163.com |access-date=10 June 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140820100655/http://news.163.com/08/0913/07/4LN1H0MC000120GU.html |archive-date=20 August 2014 }}
* {{cite book
 |last      = Plutschow
 |first     = Herbert E.
 |title     = Chaos and Cosmos: Ritual in Early and Medieval Japanese Literature
 |url       = https://books.google.com/books?id=pwfUl-sHReYC
 |publisher = E. J. Brill
 |year      = 1990
 |location  = Leiden
 |isbn      = 978-90-04-08628-9
}}
* {{cite news |ref={{sfnRef|Potter 2009}} |title=Departures |location=London |last=Porter |first=Edward |url=http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/film/film_reviews/article6939393.ece |work=The Times |date=5 December 2009 |access-date=23 May 2014 |url-access=subscription }}{{dead link|date=September 2024|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}
* {{cite news |ref={{sfnRef|Puig 2009}} |last=Puig |first=Claudia |title='Departures' is an emotional, poignant trip |date=31 May 2009 |location=Tysons Corner, Virginia |work=USA Today |url=http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/life/movies/reviews/2009-05-28-departures_N.htm |archive-date=13 November 2014 |access-date=24 May 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141113092128/http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/life/movies/reviews/2009-05-28-departures_N.htm }}
* {{cite news |ref={{sfnRef|Rayns 2009}} |last=Rayns |first=Tony |title=Departures review |date=May–June 2009 |location=New York |work=Film Comment |url=http://www.filmcomment.com/article/departures-review |archive-date=29 November 2014 |access-date=24 July 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141129040850/http://www.filmcomment.com/article/departures-review }}
* {{cite web|author=''Rotten Tomatoes'' staff|ref={{sfnRef|Rotten Tomatoes}}|url=http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/10010675-departures/|title=Okuribito (Departures)&nbsp;– Rotten Tomatoes|date=29 May 2009|publisher=Rotten Tomatoes|access-date=16 June 2020}}
* {{cite web |author=''Rovi'' staff |ref={{SfnRef|Releases}} |work=Allmovie |publisher=Rovi |url=http://www.allmovie.com/movie/departures-v468277/releases |title=Departures{{!}}Releases |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140523060000/http://www.allmovie.com/movie/departures-v468277/releases |access-date=22 May 2014 |archive-date=23 May 2014 }}
* {{cite web
 |author       = ''Sapia'' staff
 |title        = ''Okuribito'' to ''Tsumiki no Ie'' ga Akademī-shō wo dōji ni jushō
 |script-title = ja:「おくりびと」と「つみきのいえ」がアカデミー賞を同時に受賞
 |trans-title  = ''Departures'' and ''La Maison en Petits Cubes'' Win Academy Awards at the Same Time
 |work         = Sapia
 |publisher    = SAPIX小学部
 |language     = ja
 |url          = http://www.n-seiryo.ac.jp/~usui/koneko/2009/inochi.html
 |location     = Tokyo
 |date         = April 2009
 |access-date  = 3 June 2014
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20090228062620/http://www.n-seiryo.ac.jp/~usui/koneko/2009/inochi.html
 |archive-date = 28 February 2009
}}
* {{cite web 
 |last=Schilling 
 |first=Mark 
 |title=Okuribito 
 |url=http://www.japantimes.co.jp/culture/2008/09/05/culture/okuribito/ 
 |work=The Japan Times 
 |date=5 September 2008 
 |location=Tokyo/Osaka 
 |access-date=15 June 2014 
 |archive-date=14 July 2014 
 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140714173320/http://www.japantimes.co.jp/culture/2008/09/05/culture/okuribito/ 
 |ref={{sfnRef|Schilling 2008, 'Okuribito'}} 
 }}
* {{cite web 
 |last=Schilling 
 |first=Mark 
 |title=Funereal flick out to reap Japan an Oscar 
 |url=http://www.japantimes.co.jp/culture/2009/02/20/films/funereal-flick-out-to-reap-japan-an-oscar/ 
 |work=The Japan Times 
 |date=20 February 2009 
 |location=Tokyo/Osaka 
 |access-date=15 June 2014 
 |archive-date=14 July 2014 
 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140714230356/http://www.japantimes.co.jp/culture/2009/02/20/films/funereal-flick-out-to-reap-japan-an-oscar/ 
 |ref={{sfnRef|Schilling 2009, Funereal flick}} 
 }}
* {{cite web
 |last         = Schilling
 |first        = Mark
 |title        = Producer casts wider net
 |url          = https://variety.com/2009/film/features/producer-casts-wider-net-1118007879/
 |work         = Variety
 |location     = Los Angeles
 |date         = 28 August 2009
 |access-date  = 14 June 2014
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20141225224726/http://variety.com/2009/film/features/producer-casts-wider-net-1118007879/
 |archive-date = 25 December 2014
 |ref          = {{sfnRef|Schilling 2009, Producer}}
}}
* {{cite web 
 |last=Schilling 
 |first=Mark 
 |title=A decade when Japan's cinema stood up to Hollywood menace 
 |url=http://www.japantimes.co.jp/culture/2009/12/11/films/a-decade-when-japans-cinema-stood-up-to-hollywood-menace/ 
 |work=The Japan Times 
 |location=Tokyo/Osaka 
 |date=11 December 2009 
 |access-date=15 June 2014 
 |archive-date=14 July 2014 
 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140714173428/http://www.japantimes.co.jp/culture/2009/12/11/films/a-decade-when-japans-cinema-stood-up-to-hollywood-menace/ 
 |ref={{sfnRef|Schilling 2009, A decade}} 
 }}
*{{Cite news |title=Making a Living Handling Death |ref={{SfnRef|A. O. Scott 2009}} |last=Scott |first=A. O. |work=The New York Times |location=New York |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/29/movies/29depa.html?ref=movies&_r=2& |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220608081029/http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/29/movies/29depa.html?ref=movies&_r=2& |archive-date=8 June 2022 |date=28 May 2009 }}
*{{Cite news |location=New Orleans |ref={{SfnRef|Mike Scott 2009}} |title=Oscar-winning 'Departures' a surprisingly uplifting examination of loss |url=http://www.nola.com/movies/index.ssf/2009/08/oscarwinning_departures_a_surp.html |date=28 August 2009 |archive-date=23 May 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140523231517/http://www.nola.com/movies/index.ssf/2009/08/oscarwinning_departures_a_surp.html |last=Scott |first=Mike |access-date=23 May 2014 |work=The Times-Picayune }}
*{{Cite web |title='Departures' is an emotionally wrenching trip with a quiet man |work=Los Angeles Times |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2009-may-29-et-departures29-story.html |date=29 May 2009 |access-date=23 May 2014 |archive-date=23 May 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140523231038/http://articles.latimes.com/2009/may/29/entertainment/et-departures29 |location=Los Angeles |first=Betsy |last=Sharkey |url-status=live |ref={{SfnRef|Sharkey 2009}} }}
* {{cite journal
 |last         = Shinohara
 |first        = Yūko
 |title        = Eiga ''Okuribito'' no eigo jimaku ni okeru ibunka yōso (nihon-teki yūhyōsei) no hon'yaku hōryaku ni kansuru kōsaku
 |script-title = ja:映画『おくりびと』の英語字幕における異文化要素(日本的有標性)の翻訳方略に関する考察
 |trans-title  = A Study of Strategies for Translating Culture-Specific Items in the English Subtitles of the film Departures
 |journal      = 翻訳研究への招待 Invitation to Translation Studies
 |publisher    = [[Japanese Association of Independent Television Stations]]
 |language     = ja
 |location     = Tokyo
 |issue        = 9
 |year         = 2013
 |pages        = 81–98
 |url          = http://honyakukenkyu.sakura.ne.jp/shotai_vol9/06_vol9-Shinohara.pdf
 |issn         = 2185-5307
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20140524004242/http://honyakukenkyu.sakura.ne.jp/shotai_vol9/06_vol9-Shinohara.pdf
 |archive-date = 24 May 2014
}}
* {{cite journal
|last        = Shioda <!-- 塩田時敏 -->
|first       = Tokitoshi
|title       = Kessaku
|script-title=ja:傑作
|trans-title = Masterpiece
|journal     = Kinema Junpō
|language    = ja
|location    = Tokyo
|pages       = 62–63
|issue       = 1516
|date        = 15 September 2008
}}
* {{cite web
 |last         = Sōma
 |first        = Manabu
 |title        = Kiseki no "banguruwase"!? ''Okuribito'' ni naze gaikokugo eiga-shō ni kagayaita no ka!
 |script-title = ja:奇跡の"番狂わせ"!? 『おくりびと』はなぜ外国語映画賞に輝いたのか!
 |trans-title  = Miraculous 'upset'!? ''Departures'' is crowned the best foreign-language film of the year!
 |language     = ja
 |location     = Tokyo
 |work         = [[The Nikkei]]
 |url          = http://trendy.nikkeibp.co.jp/article/pickup/20090226/1024072/
 |date         = 26 February 2009
 |access-date  = 2 June 2014
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20141129014916/http://trendy.nikkeibp.co.jp/article/pickup/20090226/1024072/
 |archive-date = 29 November 2014
}}
* {{cite book
 |editor-last  = Sosnoski
 |editor-first = Daniel
 |title        = Introduction to Japanese Culture
 |publisher    = Tuttle
 |year         = 1996
 |location     = Rutland/Tokyo
 |url          = https://archive.org/details/introductiontoja00dani
 |url-access   = registration
 |isbn         = 978-0-8048-2056-1
}}
* {{cite news
 |author       = ''Sports Nippon'' staff
 |title        = Motoki Masahiro shuen ''Okuribito'' Burū Ribon-shō ni kettei
 |script-title = ja:本木雅弘主演「おくりびと」ブルーリボン賞に決定
 |trans-title  = Masahiro Motoki, star of ''Departures'', chosen for Blue Ribbon Award
 |url          = http://www.sponichi.co.jp/osaka/ente/200901/15/ente216671.html
 |work         = [[Sports Nippon]]
 |language     = ja
 |location     = Tokyo
 |date         = 15 January 2009
 |access-date  = 8 June 2014
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20141129015713/http://www.sponichi.co.jp/osaka/ente/200901/15/ente216671.html
 |archive-date = 29 November 2014
}}
* {{cite web 
 |last=Spurlin 
 |first=Thomas 
 |title=Departures 
 |work=DVD Talk 
 |publisher=Internet Brands 
 |archive-date=25 May 2014 
 |url=http://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/40453/departures/ 
 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140525200544/http://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/40453/departures/ 
 |date=24 January 2010 
 |access-date=23 May 2014 
 }}
* {{cite web
 |last         = Suzuki
 |first        = {{not a typo|Yosiaki}}
 |title        = Takita Yōjirō, Suo Masayuki: Pinku eiga kara sudatta mei-kantoku ōi
 |script-title = ja:滝田洋二郎、周防正行他 ピンク映画から巣立った名監督多い
 |trans-title  = Yōjirō Takita, Masayuki Suo: Many Famous Film Directors Come Out of Pink Film
 |url          = http://www.news-postseven.com/archives/20120405_99298.html
 |work         = News Post Seven
 |location     = Tokyo
 |date         = 5 April 2012
 |language     = ja
 |access-date  = 3 June 2014
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20150417144712/http://www.news-postseven.com/archives/20120405_99298.html
 |archive-date = 17 April 2015
}}
* {{cite web 
 |last=Tabouring 
 |first=Franck 
 |title=Departures 
 |date=28 January 2010 
 |work=DVD Verdict 
 |archive-date=14 July 2014 
 |url=http://www.dvdverdict.com/reviews/departures.php 
 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140714230913/http://www.dvdverdict.com/reviews/departures.php 
 |access-date=7 June 2014 
 }}
* {{cite book
|last1       = Takabe
|first1      = Tsutomu
|last2       = Wakatsuki
|first2      = Yūji
|title       = Mō hitori no ''Okuribito''
|script-title=ja:もうひとりの「おくりびと」
|trans-title = Another "Okuribito"
|year        = 2009
|publisher   = Toho Publishing
|language    = ja
|location    = Tokyo
|isbn        = 978-4-8094-0786-4
}}
* {{cite web|ref={{sfnRef|Takahashi 2008}}|last=Takahashi|first=Masahiro|trans-title=In the Movies, Planning for Comics, ''Komikaraizu'' is Flourishing|script-title=ja:映画で企画、漫画を作る 「コミカライズ」が隆盛|title=Eiga de kikaku, manga wo tsukuru "komikaraizu" ga ryūsei|language=ja|work=[[Asahi Shimbun]]|location=Osaka|date=10 September 2008|access-date=22 May 2014|url=http://www.asahi.com/showbiz/manga/TKY200809100057.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141126101440/http://www.asahi.com/showbiz/manga/TKY200809100057.html|archive-date=26 November 2014}}
*{{cite video
|last      = Takita
|first     = Yōjirō
|year      = 2008
|title     = ''"Interview with Yōjirō Takita"'' Departures
|medium    = DVD
|publisher = E1 Entertainment
|oclc      = 785846111
}}
* {{cite news
|last        = Tanabe <!-- 棚部秀行 -->
|first       = Hideyuki
|title       = Dai 81-kai Bei Akademī-shō gaikokygo eiga jushō ''Okuribito''
|script-title=ja:第８１回米アカデミー賞 外国語映画受賞 「おくりびと」
|trans-title = 81st American Academy Awards Foreign-Language Film Winner ''Okuribito''
|language    = ja
|page        = 9
|location    = Tokyo
|newspaper   = [[Mainichi Shimbun]]
|date        = 2 March 2009
}}
* {{cite news
 |last1        = Tourtellotte
 |first1       = Bob
 |last2        = Reynolds
 |first2       = Isabel
 |title        = Mortician tale "Departures" surprises with Oscar
 |url          = https://www.reuters.com/article/marketsNews/idUST31471620090223?pageNumber=1&virtualBrandChannel=0
 |work         = [[Reuters]]
 |date         = 23 February 2009
 |archive-date = 13 May 2014
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20140513120748/http://www.reuters.com/article/2009/02/23/oscars-departures-idUST31471620090223?pageNumber=1&virtualBrandChannel=0
 |access-date  = 23 February 2009
}}
* {{cite journal
|last        = Tsukada <!-- 塚田泉 -->
|first       = Izumi
|script-title=ja:FACE08 本木雅弘
|trans-title = Face 08: Motoki Masahiro
|journal     = [[Kinema Junpo]]
|location    = Tokyo
|language    = ja
|pages       = 1–3
|issue       = 1516
|date        = 15 September 2008
}}
* {{cite web 
 |script-title=ja:「おくりびと」オリジナルサウンドトラック [CD] 
 |title=''Okuribito'' orijinaru saundotorakku [CD] 
 |trans-title='Departures' Original Soundtrack [CD] 
 |language=ja 
 |publisher=Universal Music 
 |url=http://www.universal-music.co.jp/hisaishi-joe/products/umck-1268/ 
 |access-date=8 June 2014 
 |archive-date=15 July 2014 
 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140715025232/http://www.universal-music.co.jp/hisaishi-joe/products/umck-1268/ 
 |ref={{SfnRef|Universal Music}} 
 }}
* {{cite news
|last        = Watanabe <!-- 渡辺祥子 -->
|first       = Shōko
|title       = ''Okuribito'': Sugasugashiku shi to mukiau
|script-title=ja:おくりびと：すがすがしく 死と向き合う
|trans-title = ''Departures'': Freshly Facing Death
|page        = 20
|language    = ja
|newspaper   = [[The Nikkei]]
|location    = Tokyo
|date        = 12 September 2008
|edition     = Evening
}}
* {{cite web 
 |author=''Weekly Biz'' staff 
 |title=Gachi! Bout.52.51 Masahiro Motoki/Yōjirō Takita 
 |script-title=ja:ガチ！BOUT.52.51 本木雅弘/滝田洋二郎 
 |date=9 May 2009 
 |work=Weekly Biz 
 |language=ja 
 |url=http://www.weeklybiz.us/gachi/act/%E3%82%AC%E3%83%81%EF%BC%81bout-52-51-%E6%9C%AC%E6%9C%A8%E9%9B%85%E5%BC%98%E6%BB%9D%E7%94%B0%E6%B4%8B%E4%BA%8C%E9%83%8E/ 
 |access-date=3 June 2014 
 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141130011124/http://www.weeklybiz.us/gachi/act/%E3%82%AC%E3%83%81%EF%BC%81bout-52-51-%E6%9C%AC%E6%9C%A8%E9%9B%85%E5%BC%98%E6%BB%9D%E7%94%B0%E6%B4%8B%E4%BA%8C%E9%83%8E/ 
 |archive-date=30 November 2014 
 }}
*{{Cite book
 |title=''Okuribito'': on record: Onkyō piano torio (piano bansō/baiorin ・ chero pāto-fu tsuki) 
 |script-title=ja:おくりびと : on record : オンキョウピアノトリオ(ピアノ伴奏/バイオリン・チェロパート譜付き) 
 |trans-title=Departures on Record: Music for an Acoustic Trio 
 |ref={{SfnRef|WorldCat, おくりびと : on record}} 
 |oclc=676204123 
 }}
*{{Cite book
 |title=''Okuribito'': piano & chero ・ pīsu 
 |script-title=ja:おくりびと : ピアノ&チェロ・ピース 
 |trans-title=Departures: Piano and Cello Pieces 
 |ref={{SfnRef|おくりびと : ピアノ&チェロ・ピース}} 
 |oclc=676569003 
 }}
* {{Cite book
 |title=Okuribito
 |ref={{sfnRef|''Okuribito''}}
 |oclc=271435675
 }}
* {{cite news 
 |author=''Yamagata Community Shinbun'' staff 
 |title=Okuribito no roke-chi būmu Kaminoyama mo atsui zo! 
 |script-title=ja:おくりびとロケ地ブーム 上山も熱いぞ！ 
 |trans-title=''Departures'' Film Location Boom: Kaminoyama is Hot, Too! 
 |work=Yamagata Community Shinbun 
 |language=ja 
 |location=Yamagata 
 |url=http://www.yamacomi.com/1306.html 
 |date=22 May 2009 
 |access-date=11 June 2014 
 |archive-date=19 August 2014 
 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140819190342/http://www.yamacomi.com/1306.html 
 }}
* {{cite web
 |author       = ''Yamagata News Online'' staff
 |title        = ''Okuribito'' roke-chi, raigetsu de kaikan he rōkyū-ka, nyūkansha mo genshō ・ Sakata
 |script-title = ja:「おくりびと」ロケ地、来月で閉館へ 老朽化、入館者も減少・酒田
 |trans-title  = ''Departures'' Location to be Closed Next Month Due to Age, Decline in Visitors・Sakata
 |date         = 22 February 2014
 |work         = Yamagata News Online
 |location     = Yamagata
 |language     = ja
 |url          = http://yamagata-np.jp/news/201402/22/kj_2014022200480.php
 |access-date  = 9 June 2014
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20141129015117/http://yamagata-np.jp/news/201402/22/kj_2014022200480.php
 |archive-date = 29 November 2014
}}
* {{cite news 
 |author=Yamagata Television System staff 
 |title=''Okuribito'' de Minato-za fukkatsu 
 |script-title=ja:「おくりびと」で「港座」復活 
 |trans-title=Minato-za Restored in ''Departures'' 
 |language=ja 
 |url=http://www.yts.co.jp/gojidas_blog/archives/2009/05/post_266.html 
 |work=[[Yamagata Television System]] 
 |location=Yamagata 
 |date=13 May 2009 
 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140714131333/http://www.yts.co.jp/gojidas_blog/archives/2009/05/post_266.html 
 |archive-date=14 July 2014 
 |access-date=11 June 2014 
 }}
* {{cite web
 |last         = Yamaguchi
 |first        = Takurō
 |title        = ''Okuribito''
 |script-title = ja:おくりびと
 |trans-title  = Departures
 |language     = ja
 |work         = Eiga Judge
 |url          = http://www.cinemaonline.jp/review/kan/6601.html
 |access-date  = 2 June 2014
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20090228160416/http://www.cinemaonline.jp/review/kan/6601.html
 |archive-date = 28 February 2009
}}
* {{cite news
|last        = Yamane <!-- 山根貞夫 -->
|first       = Sadao
|title       = ''Okuribito'': zetsumyō no te no ugoki ni kokoro-utarete
|script-title=ja:「おくりびと」：絶妙な手の動きに心打たれた
|trans-title = ''Okuribito'': Touched by Exquisite Hand Movements<!-- surely there's a more elegant translation for 手の動き than "hand movements" -->
|language    = ja
|page        = 5
|location    = Osaka
|newspaper   = [[Asahi Shimbun]]
|date        = 12 September 2008
|edition     = Evening
}}
* {{cite book
|last        = Yamane
|first       = Sadao
|title       = Nihon eiga jihyō henshū 2000–2010
|script-title=ja:日本映画時評集成 2000–2010
|trans-title = Collected Commentary on Japanese Film 2000–2010
|year        = 2012
|chapter     = 映画が立ち上がる瞬間
|pages       = 350–353
|location=Tokyo
|publisher   = Kokusho Kankōkai
|language    = ja
|isbn        = 978-4-336-05482-1
}}
* {{cite web 
 |author=''Yomiuri Shimbun'' staff 
 |title=''Okuribito'' roke-chi, sangatsu-matsu de kōkai shūryō he 
 |script-title=ja:「おくりびと」ロケ地、３月末で公開終了へ 
 |trans-title=''Okuribito'' Shooting Locations to be Opened to the Public from Late March 
 |date=22 February 2014 
 |location=Tokyo 
 |work=[[Yomiuri Shimbun]] 
 |language=ja 
 |url=http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/otona/travel/tnews/tohoku/20140222-OYT8T00262.html 
 |access-date=9 June 2014 
 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150505213015/http://info.yomiuri.co.jp/culture/2010/10/jushou-kako51.html 
 |archive-date=5 May 2015 
 }}
* {{cite book
 |last         = Yoshida
 |first        = Narihiko
 |title        = Aidea wo katachi ni suru shigoto-jutsu: bijinesu ・ purodyūsā no nanatsu no nōryoku
 |script-title = ja:アイデアをカタチにする仕事術: ビジネス・プロデューサーの７つの能力
 |trans-title  = Giving Shape to an Idea: Seven Skills of Business Producers <!-- not literal, but whatever -->
 |url          = https://books.google.com/books?id=mR2aAwAAQBAJ
 |year         = 2010
 |publisher    = Toyo Keizai
 |language     = ja
 |location     = Tokyo
 |isbn         = 978-4-492-04367-7
}}
{{Refend}}

==External links==
* {{Official website|https://web.archive.org/web/20100210181450/http://www.departures-themovie.com/}} (via the [[Internet Archive]])
* {{IMDb title}}
*{{AllMovie title}}
* {{Rotten Tomatoes}}
*{{metacritic film}}

{{Yōjirō Takita}}
{{Navboxes
|title = [[List of accolades received by Departures (2008 film)|Awards for ''Departures'']]
|list =
{{Academy Award Best Foreign Language Film 2001–2020}}
{{Grand Prix des Amériques}}
{{Hochi Film Award for Best Film}}
{{Japanese submissions for the Academy Award}}
{{Japan Academy Prize for Best Film}}
{{Kinema Junpo Award for Best Film}}
{{Mainichi Film Award for Best Film}}
{{Nikkan Sports Film Award for Best Film}}
{{Yokohama Film Festival Best Film}}
}}

{{Portal bar|Film|Japan}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Departures}}
[[Category:2008 black comedy films]]
[[Category:2008 films]]
[[Category:Slice of life films]]
[[Category:Best Film Kinema Junpo Award winners]]
[[Category:Best Foreign Language Film Academy Award winners]]
[[Category:Films about cellos and cellists]]
[[Category:Films about death]]
[[Category:Films about funerals]]
[[Category:Films directed by Yōjirō Takita]]
[[Category:Films scored by Joe Hisaishi]]
[[Category:Films set in Tokyo]]
[[Category:Films set in Yamagata Prefecture]]
[[Category:Films shot in Japan]]
[[Category:Films with screenplays by Kundō Koyama]]
[[Category:Japanese drama films]]
[[Category:2000s Japanese-language films]]
[[Category:Picture of the Year Japan Academy Prize winners]]
[[Category:Shochiku films]]
[[Category:Shogakukan franchises]]
[[Category:2000s Japanese films]]