It is the anniversary of the death of the wife and mother of an Okinawan family and the Shinjos have congregated back on the island. It is time to honour the dead by practicing the ritual bone washing, which involves the exhumation of the corpse and the washing of the bones. It is imperative to say farewell properly and come to grips with the dismal loss of a loved one. Along with the ritual comes the travails, challenges and circumstances of the family.