Shigeshoushi

Shinjuurou Mamiya works as an embalmer—a profession seen as "unclean" by Japanese society due to religious traditions and lack of demand for the service. Driven by his passion to preserve the dignity of the deceased, he has resigned himself to the outcast lifestyle that comes with his job. Though his clientele is lacking, he is exceptionally skilled. Shinjuurou does not shy away from opportunities to show off his ability to transform a corpse into a state that makes a loved one believe they are just sleeping peacefully.

Shigeshoushi explores the delicate psychological relationships between life, death, loss, and mourning. With each embalming, Shinjuurou brings the inner beauty of the deceased back to life to give their loved ones a chance to properly say goodbye.

Shigeshoushi was published in English as The Embalmer by Tokyopop in four volumes from August 8, 2006 to August 1, 2007, before the license was dropped and the publisher went defunct. It has also been published in Polish by Hanami from 2008 to 2013.

The manga was given a live-action drama adaptation that ran from October 5, 2007 to December 21, 2007 on TV Tokyo, Aichi Television Broadcasting, and TVQ Kyushu.