Photo/Illutration Coffins called “okuribako” are designed to help couples who have had stillbirths or miscarriages. (Hayato Jinno)

AKITA--A support organization will sell small coffins to help couples ease the pain and misery of having a stillborn baby or a miscarriage.

Many such couples have expressed deep remorse at being unable to find a fitting coffin to cremate their precious lost ones at support meetings held by Kokohagu in the capital of Akita Prefecture.

Out of such conversations, a series of roundish and warmhearted coffins were produced exclusively for lives lost in miscarriages and stillbirths.

Kokohagu supports families before and after childbirth, and some of its staff members are midwives who have been present at stillbirths and miscarriages.

The sense of guilt expressed by the couples heightened feelings of powerlessness among staff workers who were too pressed by work to initially take up the suggestions for the coffins and bring closure for the families.

To break this chain of sorrow, Makiko Odashima, the 38-year-old representative director of Kokohagu, and other staff members started devising a plan in spring 2018.

After conducting questionnaires at medical institutions and talking to people on-site, Odashima and the others developed coffin prototypes.

The final product comes in three sizes. They are all made of Akita cedar, which exudes a sense of warmth, and the corners are rounded.

They wanted the coffins to bring up images of a baby crib.

The tops of the coffins feature the face of pretty bear, which can be removed so that parents can see the babies’ faces or remains one last time before cremation.

The staff members have named the series of coffins “okuribako” (farewell box) to avoid the cold-heartedness that comes with the term “coffin.”

The bear faces are produced at a support center for disabled people. Kokohagu staff held a crowd-funding campaign to cover the production costs of okuribako.

The coffins are expected to hit the market at the end of this year.

The group has also started a website, which features a tree, a symbol of life, and can accept orders from mourning families in hospital rooms.

Odashima said she hopes that when grieving couples pick up the coffins, they will feel like they are holding their babies. That way, the experience of having a stillbirth or miscarriage “will not be remembered only as a hardship.”

“I’m sure (couples) will see that they were happy because of the baby,” Odashima said.

The coffin will be sold in a set with hand-stitched baby clothes, a hat and a bone container.

The smallest set will be available from 80,000 yen ($730).

For more information on the coffins, visit (http://okuribako.jp/).