Grandma's Final Wish: Aloha Shirts Instead of Funeral Black

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Funerals in Japan follow one of the strictest dress codes in daily life: mourners wear all-black "mourning clothes," dark suits for men and black dresses for women, and stepping outside that uniform is close to unthinkable. So when a woman shared the funeral instructions her late grandmother had left behind, the sheer opposite of that solemn dress code caught a lot of people off guard.

The grandmother's will was blunt: men should wear aloha shirts, women should wear muumuu (the loose, brightly patterned Hawaiian dress), and mourning clothes were flatly banned. She'd even warned that anyone who showed up in black would get haunted for it. The granddaughter admitted she doesn't actually own a muumuu, so she, her husband, and her son are simply attending in matching aloha shirts instead.

What followed was a wave of people admiring the grandmother's personality — an upbeat, Hawaii-loving woman who apparently spent her whole life doing things her own way — along with a surprising number of replies from people now planning similarly unconventional instructions for their own funerals.

Comments

My grandma passed away and I’ve got her funeral coming up soon, but her will was kind of a wild one: “men wear aloha shirts, women wear muumuu, no mourning clothes allowed.” I don’t even own a muumuu though, so my husband, son, and I are all going in aloha shirts instead. She even said “if you show up in mourning clothes I’ll come back and haunt you!” 👻🌺

祖母が亡くなり近々葬儀に行くのですが、祖母の遺言が「私の葬式は男はアロハ女はムームーで参列する事、喪服は許さん」というエッジの効いたやつだったもんで、とは言え私はムームー持っていないので夫息子と3人アロハで参列します。「喪服で来たら化けて出てやる！」まで言ってたもんな👻🌺

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Guess I should wear the loudest aloha shirt I can find. She was a total Hawaii-obsessed, upbeat grandma. Loved her beer too — I remember how happy she looked the handful of times we drank together after I turned 20. Wish we could’ve gone to Hawaii together. And of course she goes and dies right when it’s hot enough that aloha shirts are basically mandatory, classic grandma 🌺

一番派手なアロハで行くべきだな。ハワイ大好きアッパー婆ちゃんだったのでな。ビール大好きで、私が成人してから何度か、数えるほどだけど、一緒に飲んだ時うれしそうにしてたのを思い出す。一緒にハワイ行きたかったな。一番暑いアロハ着るっきゃない時期に亡くなるとかマジ婆ちゃん🌺

She really was cheerful, loved flashy clothes, loved beer — we lived in the same house until I was in third grade, so we were together every day. Her spirit is still pretty strong in me, I think our core personalities are actually pretty similar. It’s sad, but it still doesn’t quite feel real yet. Going to say goodbye in an aloha shirt soon.

本当に明るくて派手な服が好きでビールが好きで、小3まで同じ家で暮らしていて毎日一緒にいたので、私の中で婆ちゃんスピリットはかなり濃く残っている。たぶん根っこの性格似てる気がするし。悲しいけれど、なんかまだ実感がないんだよな。近日、アロハシャツでお別れしてきます。

Good.

良い。

Nice, I like this. Maybe I’ll make everyone wear goth or punk clothes to my funeral too.

いいなこれワシの葬式の時はゴシックかパンクの服装を強要しようかな

So cool… if I knew her I would’ve lent her an aloha shirt lol

かっけー…知り合いだったらアロハ貸しましたわw

That kind of funeral sounds nice.

そういう葬式いいな

Kind of reminds me of one of comedian Hayashiya Shinpei’s many, many weddings. (Hayashiya Shinpei is a Japanese comedian known for holding several flashy, over-the-top weddings over the years.)

林家しん平さんだかの何回目かの結婚式のときみたい。

I wonder what the in-between generation is supposed to do.

間の世代の人はどうするんだろ

Such a lovely will. Now I’m curious how it actually goes.

とても素敵な遺言。続報が気になります。

If you dig through grandma’s dresser I bet a few muumuus and loud Hawaiian shirts turn up lol

ばーちゃんのタンスひっくり返せば何枚かはムームーやらアッパーパーやら出てくると思うw

A will that lets the people left behind channel their feelings without any hesitation is really nice. If I wrote mine now, I’d say: if anyone likes any of my stuff, please take it — or just sell it to a secondhand shop… especially the pricey artisan pottery, my Goo-san figure, and the watermelon-print Yogibo that’s coming eventually. Oh, and the books!

遺された人達が、亡くなった方に何かしてあげたいって気持を迷いなく昇華させられる遺言って良いよね。私が今書くとしたら、誰かもし気に入った物品があったら貰って欲しいリサイクルショップでも良いけど⋯特に高価な作家モノ器とグーさんといずれ来るスイカヨギボ。あと本！

In Hawaii, aloha shirts count as formal wear for men, so everyone wears them to funerals too (in darker colors, of course). But more than anything, it’s just lovely that she’s being sent off in bright, colorful clothes exactly like she asked 🌺

ハワイでアロハシャツは男性の正装だから葬式に参列する時はみんなアロハシャツ着てるし(さすがにダークカラーではあるけど)、何よりお祖母様の遺言通りに華やかな装いで見送られるのがとっても素敵🌺

Good vibes grandma.

グッドバイブスおばあちゃん

A total party-animal grandma 😁 (“Paripi” is slang for someone who loves parties and having a good time.)

パリピばーちゃん😁

Lovely 💓 I want to grow into that kind of grandpa or grandma someday.

素敵💓　こんなジーさん・バーさんになりたいもんだね

Reminded me of Summer Wars. (a reference to the lively, larger-than-life grandmother character in the anime film Summer Wars)

サマーウォーズを思い出した

I want to copy this idea.

真似したい

Maybe I’ll be selfish too and demand people “dress stylish” for mine.

私は「オシャレしてくるように」ってワガママ言おうかな。

We’re totally Japanese, but at my dad’s funeral we dressed him in a white aloha shirt and my mom wore a white muumuu. Feels like we’d get along with this grandma.

ウチ、純日本人だけど父の葬儀に父に白いアロハ着せて母は白いムームー着てた。気が合いそう。

There’s someone else who thinks exactly like me!! (; ･`д･´) For my own funeral I want people to wear regular clothes or their favorite sports team’s jersey, play Perfume and Negicco (Japanese pop idol groups) the whole time, and just keep it bright and upbeat. Everyone should drink my favorite Doi Tung coffee from Thailand (a coffee brand tied to Thailand’s Doi Tung royal development project) and talk about all my dumb memories until there’s nothing left to say.

同じ事考えている人がいた！！(; ･`д･´) 自分の葬式の時は平服もしくは推しチームのユニフォーム会場にはPerfumeとNegiccoを流してもらってとにかく明るくやってくれと。みんなで私の推しコーヒーであるタイのドイトゥンコーヒー飲んで私のバカな思い出を語りつくしてほしいと。

“Don’t make it gloomy, okay?” — already told my wife and kids that lol

しめっぽくしないでねと嫁さんと子供には伝えておいてるｗ

Good thing it’s hot season. What would they even do if it were winter? ☃🌺

暑い季節でよかった冬だったらどうするんだろ？☃🌺

I wonder what would’ve happened if it were winter. Is there even such a thing as a winter aloha shirt?

冬だったらどうなってたんだろ。冬用のアロハってあるのかな。

I was wondering what the plan would’ve been for winter, but then I realized — just wear the aloha shirt over the mourning clothes, problem solved! Convinced myself and moved on.

冬ならどうするつもりだったんだろうと思ったけど、喪服の上にアロハ着れば万事解決じゃん！と1人で納得した。

My take

Seems like plenty of people would rather laugh at a funeral than sit through something gloomy.

#Funny #Culture #Society

Source & translation note

Comments loosely translated for tone. Reactions collected from Togetter and X threads.

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