Rites of Passage and Proof of Existence
— Social Memory Inscribed Through Ritual

Disclaimer: This essay is an academic analysis and does not endorse any particular religious or cultural position.

1. Rites of Passage and Social Recognition

In his 1909 work Les rites de passage, anthropologist Arnold van Gennep revealed the universal structure of rituals performed at life's turning points. Birth, coming of age, marriage, death—at these transitional moments, societies around the world conduct some form of ritual.

"The life of an individual in any society is a series of passages from one age to another and from one occupation to another... And each of these transitions is marked by ceremonies whose essential purpose is to enable the individual to pass from one defined position to another."

— Arnold van Gennep, The Rites of Passage

Van Gennep classified rites of passage into three stages:

• Separation: Detachment from the previous state or group
• Transition/Liminality: A liminal state belonging to neither one nor the other
• Incorporation: Entry into a new state or group

What is crucial in this structure is that rituals involve not merely "personal change" but "social recognition." Becoming an adult, becoming a married couple, becoming deceased—these require not only internal personal transformation but also "certification" by the community.

Liminality and the Uncertainty of Existence

Victor Turner developed van Gennep's theory and deepened the concept of "liminality." An individual in transition belongs to no social category—placed in a state of being "no longer a child, but not yet an adult."

This liminal state is fascinating from the perspective of proof of existence. Liminal beings are socially "invisible," standing outside the normal order. Ritual serves to "fix" the individual in a new social position after passing through this unstable state.

2. The Meaning of Weddings — Witnessing the Union of Existence

A wedding ceremony is a ritual that socially "inscribes" the union of two individuals. Its essence lies not in legal procedures or religious rites, but in the act of "making vows before public witnesses."

Why Are Witnesses Necessary?

In many cultures, marriage requires witnesses. Japanese marriage registration forms have a witness section, and Christian ceremonies include attendants. This is not mere formality.

Emile Durkheim understood ritual as "collective effervescence." When people gather and share a common experience, social bonds are strengthened. Witnesses at a wedding are not simply "people who were watching"—they are beings who take responsibility for the couple's union as part of society's memory.

"Ritual reproduces society. When people gather and act together, they are recreating society itself."

— Summarizing Emile Durkheim, The Elementary Forms of Religious Life

The Wedding Reception as "Disclosure"

In Japan, the wedding reception (hiroen) is literally meant for "disclosure"—making something widely known to the public. Relatives, friends, and workplace colleagues are invited to "witness" the couple's union. The guests become witnesses throughout their subsequent lives to the fact that "those two are married."

Interestingly, even in modern times when more couples register their marriage without holding a reception, many still feel a psychological unease about "not having had a ceremony." This may be an unconscious anxiety about not having undergone the ritual of social endorsement.

3. Funerals and Commemoration — The Final Proof of Existence

The funeral is the most important ritual in the proof of human existence. This is because the funeral represents the final opportunity to socially confirm the fact that "this person once existed."

Social Confirmation of Death

Biological death and social death do not necessarily coincide. A person does not vanish from society the moment their heart stops beating. Through the funeral and subsequent mourning, they gradually acquire their position as "the deceased."

Robert Hertz analyzed "secondary burial"—reburial rituals performed some time after death—found in many societies, demonstrating that death is not a process completed in a single moment. Parallel to the decomposition of the body, the social position of the deceased as a social being is gradually established.

Mourners as Witnesses

Those who attend the funeral are the final witnesses to the deceased's existence.

• Confirmation of the fact that "this person certainly existed"
• Visualization of relationships with the deceased—family, friends, colleagues
• Integration of the deceased's life journey into collective memory

A large number of mourners is evidence that the person remains in many people's memories. Conversely, dying alone without anyone to witness—"solitary death"—and death without anyone to mourn can be seen as death lacking the final stage of proof of existence.

Graves and the Continuation of Commemoration

Proof of existence does not necessarily end with the funeral. Graves, Buddhist altars, memorial tablets, ancestral records—these are devices that maintain the deceased's existence materially even after death. The act of visiting a grave can be seen as a ritual of repeatedly confirming the deceased's existence.

However, if there is no one to maintain the grave, these devices are lost. The increase in "unattended graves" symbolizes a crisis in the proof of existence after death.

4. Coming-of-Age Ceremonies and Shichi-Go-San — Marking Milestones of Growth

There are also rituals that socially confirm existence along the journey of life. Japan's Shichi-Go-San (Seven-Five-Three) and coming-of-age ceremonies are typical examples.

Shichi-Go-San — Confirmation of Survival

The origins of Shichi-Go-San date back to an era when infant mortality rates were high. Surviving to ages 3, 5, and 7 was a fact worth celebrating at that time. Visiting a shrine and reporting to the community that "this child is growing up safely"—this was the original meaning of Shichi-Go-San.

While infant mortality rates have dramatically declined in modern times, Shichi-Go-San continues to be observed. Its function has shifted from "survival confirmation" to "growth documentation," but the essence of "confirming a child's existence before social witnesses" is maintained.

Coming-of-Age Ceremony — Ritual of Social Entry

The coming-of-age ceremony is a ritual that socially endorses the transition from "child" to "adult." The fact that the ceremony at age 20 continues separately from the legal age of adulthood (currently 18) demonstrates that legal qualification and social endorsement are different matters.

Dressing in formal attire, gathering with peers of the same age, receiving congratulatory addresses from local leaders—through this ritual, young people acquire the status of "adults recognized as members of this community."

"Transition without ritual is, socially speaking, not a transition. Acquiring a qualification and having that qualification socially endorsed are separate matters."

5. Commercialization and Hollowing of Rituals

In modern society, ceremonial occasions have become a massive industry. However, commercialization is undermining the essence of ritual.

The Bridal Industry and "Showcase" Weddings

The average cost of a wedding reaches several million yen. Luxurious venues, expensive cuisine, professional photographers—these are fundamentally unrelated to the ritual's essence of "gathering witnesses and making vows."

Yet many couples pursue the "ideal wedding," expending tremendous cost and effort to achieve it. This phenomenon suggests that the purpose of ritual has shifted from "social endorsement" to "self-expression" and "consumer experience."

• For whom is the ritual held—for the witnesses, or for oneself?
• What is being recorded—the fact of union, or a "wonderful day"?
• Who will remember—the attendees' memories, or photo data?

Simplification of Funerals and "Family Funerals"

Meanwhile, funerals are trending toward simplification. The increase in "family funerals" represents a movement to reduce costs and effort by limiting attendees.

However, limiting attendees means reducing the witnesses who testify to the deceased's existence. In extreme cases, "direct cremation"—cremation only without wake or funeral service—is also increasing.

The Choice of "Not Having to Do It"

A more fundamental change is the normalization of the option to "not hold a ritual."

• Registering marriage without holding a wedding
• Direct cremation without funeral services
• Not attending the coming-of-age ceremony
• Choosing to scatter ashes rather than having a grave

These choices should be respected as individual freedoms. However, not undergoing ritual also means relinquishing the opportunity for social proof of existence. A choice made with awareness of these consequences is called for.

6. Rituals in the Digital Age

The pandemic fundamentally transformed the nature of ritual. Online funerals, remote weddings, virtual coming-of-age ceremonies—rituals that had presumed physical presence began to be conducted in digital spaces.

Possibilities and Limitations of Online Funerals

Online funerals offer several advantages:

• Distant relatives and friends can attend
• Elderly individuals who have difficulty traveling can participate
• Records remain as digital data

However, attending through a screen is qualitatively different from "being there." Durkheim's "collective effervescence"—the experience of placing one's body in the same space and sharing grief together—is difficult to reproduce online.

Social Media as "Witness"

Interestingly, social media has begun functioning as a new form of "witness." The "likes" and comments on marriage announcement posts, the words of condolence on death notices—these can be seen as forms of social endorsement in digital space.

A deceased person's social media account becomes a kind of "digital tombstone." Friends leave comments and share memories—this serves as an alternative function to physical grave visits.

7. The Position of TokiStorage

Based on the above considerations, we can see that TokiStorage engages with proof of existence in a way different from ceremonial occasions.

The Relationship Between Ritual and Record

Ceremonial occasions inscribe existence by "gathering witnesses." Their effectiveness depends on how long witnesses' memories persist. People forget. Witnesses also die. When all those who attended have passed away, the memory of that ritual also disappears.

TokiStorage provides records that do not depend on witnesses. Data inscribed in quartz glass has the potential to survive beyond the limits of human memory.

A Complementary Relationship

However, TokiStorage is not a replacement for ritual.

• Ritual: Performs social endorsement "here and now"
• TokiStorage: Preserves records "for the long term"

Ideally, both function complementarily. Hold a wedding and store the record in TokiStorage. Conduct a funeral and preserve the deceased's memory for the long term. Ritual performs the "social inscription," and TokiStorage handles the "material preservation."

Proof of Existence in an Era Without Ritual

In modern times, as rituals become increasingly hollow, TokiStorage's role may become more important.

Even without holding a wedding, the couple's vows can be recorded. Even if people don't gather for a funeral, the deceased's memory can be preserved. As the "social apparatus" of ritual weakens, TokiStorage as a "material apparatus" offers an alternative pathway for proof of existence.

However, this does not completely replace the function of ritual. Records preserved as data are merely an accumulation of bits unless someone reads them and gives them meaning. The "community memory" generated by ritual cannot be reproduced by technology alone.

Conclusion — Toward the Future as Witnesses

Ceremonial occasions are the fundamental apparatus through which human society performs proof of existence. Being born, growing up, being united, passing away—at each of these stages, people have gathered witnesses and obtained social endorsement.

However, this apparatus is wavering in modern society. Commercialization has turned ritual into a consumer good, simplification has reduced witnesses, and the option of "not holding ceremonies" has become normalized. Following the pandemic, in-person ritual is no longer taken for granted.

In this situation, two questions emerge.

First, how do we maintain the essential function of ritual—the inscription of existence through social endorsement? Even if forms change, should we not preserve the core of "confirming existence before witnesses"?

Second, how do we construct new means of proof of existence that complement ritual? Is there not a need for longer-term recording mechanisms that do not depend on witnesses' memories?

"Ritual maintains society through repetition. But records do not require repetition. Once inscribed, they continue to exist."

TokiStorage is one response to this second question. Not replacing ritual, but complementing it. Only when we have both social endorsement and material preservation does proof of existence become complete.

A thousand years from now, no one will remember the weddings held today. All who attended today's funerals will also be deceased. However, if records remain, the facts that "once there was a union here" and "once a person existed here" can be transmitted.

Ritual inscribes "the present." Records become a bridge to "the future." Having both is the path toward the completeness of proof of existence.