These days, even Buddhist monks are getting into the business. As Hamada explains it, Japanese Shinto and Buddhism posit that spirits come to inhabit objects that have been used for years. “Families go to the monks and temples after the death for prayers,” Hamada says. “And then the monks go to the home and clean it out.” It’s such an attractive business model that some cleanout companies are working directly with the temples, offering to tie up the deceased’s spiritual and material needs in one simple package.
