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Undertakers, crematorium workers

How to become an Encoffiner

Treats and preserves the bodies of people who have died, dresses them and places them in the coffin, so families can say goodbye with peace of mind.

How to become one

Education is not asked about, for new graduates or mid-career hires. Some new graduates are students of funeral services courses at a senmon gakko (vocational college) who join after an internship. Many people join mid-career from a wide range of industries and jobs, with fairly many coming from nursing, care work and hairdressing or beauty work. No qualifications are needed to start, but you often drive to jobs, so a standard driving licence is useful. Vacancies are mainly advertised through Hello Work (public employment service) and private job sites, and companies with offices in several areas often hire separately for each office. Training after joining is mainly on the job with senior staff. Some skills, such as dressing the deceased, can be practised at the office, but most treatment techniques are hard to practise in advance, so you learn them on the job from senior staff. The training period depends on how quickly you learn but is roughly six months to a year, and some companies give new graduates group training in business manners and similar before on-the-job training. Most encoffiners work for companies that specialise in encoffining. If you are hired as an encoffiner, you are placed in the role straight away and trained. Pay rises and promotion depend on company rules. After gaining experience on the job, you can be promoted to site supervisor, area manager or a management post at an office or head office. You are present as families say goodbye to someone precious to them, so you should be neatly groomed and well mannered, and have the communication skills to deal smoothly with families and funeral company staff. You also need to share in families' grief with empathy while, as a professional, resetting your feelings for each job.

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Questions people ask

How do I become an Encoffiner?

Education is not asked about, for new graduates or mid-career hires. Some new graduates are students of funeral services courses at a senmon gakko (vocational college) who join after an internship. Many people join mid-career from a wide range of industries and jobs, with fairly many coming from nursing, care work and hairdressing or beauty work. No qualifications are needed to start, but you often drive to jobs, so a standard driving licence is useful. Vacancies are mainly advertised through Hello Work (public employment service) and private job sites, and companies with offices in several areas often hire separately for each office. Training after joining is mainly on the job with senior staff. Some skills, such as dressing the deceased, can be practised at the office, but most treatment techniques are hard to practise in advance, so you learn them on the job from senior staff. The training period depends on how quickly you learn but is roughly six months to a year, and some companies give new graduates group training in business manners and similar before on-the-job training. Most encoffiners work for companies that specialise in encoffining. If you are hired as an encoffiner, you are placed in the role straight away and trained. Pay rises and promotion depend on company rules. After gaining experience on the job, you can be promoted to site supervisor, area manager or a management post at an office or head office. You are present as families say goodbye to someone precious to them, so you should be neatly groomed and well mannered, and have the communication skills to deal smoothly with families and funeral company staff. You also need to share in families' grief with empathy while, as a professional, resetting your feelings for each job.

How much does an Encoffiner earn in Japan?

Average annual income in the private sector, bonus included, is ¥4,026,700 (Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare). The figure is for the wage survey group Other service workers, which covers several jobs.

Do you need a degree to become an Encoffiner?

Usually not. In this job's census occupation group, only 20% of workers are university graduates.

Will AI change the work of an Encoffiner?

Generative AI can do relatively little of this work, by the ILO's global estimate.

Sources

独立行政法人労働政策研究・研修機構（JILPT）作成 職業情報データベース 解説系ダウンロードデータ（IPD_DL_description_7_01.xlsx）ver.7.01 職業情報提供サイト（job tag）より2026年10月4日にダウンロード（https://shigoto.mhlw.go.jp/User/download）を加工して作成

独立行政法人労働政策研究・研修機構（JILPT）作成 職業情報データベース 簡易版数値系ダウンロードデータ（IPD_DL_numeric_7_00.xlsx）ver.7.00 職業情報提供サイト（job tag）より2026年10月4日にダウンロード（https://shigoto.mhlw.go.jp/User/download）を加工して作成

Sources: JILPT Occupational Information Database download data via job tag (解説系 ver.7.01 and 簡易版数値系 ver.7.00, downloaded 4 October 2026), processed by Peernovo; MHLW, Basic Survey on Wage Structure 2025; Statistics Bureau of Japan, 2020 Population Census; MEXT, School Basic Survey 2025; MHLW, Employment Referrals for General Workers (Hello Work statistics). Figures processed by Peernovo. English job names, translations and the matching of jobs to statistical groups, schools and degree fields by Peernovo.

Updated 4 October 2026