Embalming
Safe longer-term care of the deceased
Family and friends who live far away can still take their time saying goodbye in person.
- IMS JAPAN
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- What is embalming?
What's EmbalmingWhat is embalming?
Embalming is a scientific procedure with three aims—preservation, disinfection (infection control), and restoration (cosmetics)—so that bereaved families may share a better farewell with the deceased. Using the vascular system, preserving fluid is injected and the body is perfused and fixed, which disinfects the remains, supports public health safety, slows decomposition, and typically allows the deceased to be kept in a hygienically safe condition for approximately two weeks. It helps prevent unexpected changes to the appearance of the deceased and supports a dignified farewell.
What's Embalming
Embalming
What embalming can do
It can fulfill families’ wishes—for relatives and friends far away to meet the deceased one last time, or for bereaved families to take their time and say goodbye without regret.
We believe that spending those final moments without lingering regrets supports the emotional care of those who remain.
Embalming
An appearance true to the person they were
Even when illness has changed their appearance, we can bring them closer to how they looked in life.
Embalming
A reassuring farewell through disinfection
You can be close to the deceased and say goodbye with peace of mind, without undue concern about secondary infection.
Embalming
Preservation, disinfection, restoration—and care for the heart
Through “preservation,” “disinfection (infection control),” and “restoration (cosmetics),” embalming is mortuary sanitation and preservation: it maintains the deceased for a defined period and guides their appearance toward a natural state that recalls how they were in life. When someone irreplaceable has passed, it is performed to uphold their dignity and support a better farewell.
Embalming also plays a major part in grief care—supporting the hearts of bereaved families and those who were close to the deceased.
By bringing their appearance closer to the face you hold in memory—them as they were in life—we stand beside families in their grief.
Grief care
The face you remember from that day
Care for those left behind—the role of embalming as grief care
Grief care
About grief care
We seek to help bereaved families meet their final farewell with calm and composure.
Embalming as grief care
“Even a little closer to how they were then…” Many families request embalming out of love for the deceased and for their sake.
Embalming also serves as grief care: presenting the deceased with the face they had in life so that bereaved families and close friends may say their last goodbyes in peace and move forward without regret.
At IMS JAPAN, we place great importance on care for bereaved families’ hearts.
Grief care
Toward a better funeral service
The value of saying goodbye in person
After the COVID-19 pandemic, many have felt anew how precious it is to say farewell face to face. Whether one could do so at the end, and what expression the deceased wore, is said to weigh heavily on bereaved families afterward.
We believe that having enough time to say goodbye in peace, with the face you hold in memory—these things embalming makes possible—also supports families’ emotional care.
Embalming
Embalming: three elements
PreservationPreservation
Without relying on dry ice, we slow post-mortem changes such as decomposition and odor. Freed from worry over such changes, families can take unhurried time to say goodbye, stay together until they are ready, and part without regret.
DisinfectionDisinfection
Bacteria or viruses may be present on the deceased; blood and bodily fluids in particular may harbor a wide range of pathogens. Disinfection (infection control) allows you to be near the deceased and touch them with greater peace of mind.
Restoration (Cosmetic)Restoration (cosmetics)
For those who have lost facial volume through illness, accident, or cancer, we perform restoration to bring their appearance closer to the face families remember. Many request this restoration to ease lingering regret and to send their loved one on their way with a calm heart.
IMS JAPAN has extensive experience with international repatriation. Embassies and foreign nationals are invited to review our For embassies page.