Itatoba
These bamboo sticks that accompany headstones in Japanese cemeteries are called “itatoba.” They bear the posthumous Buddhist names of the dead. The idea is if you continue calling the deceased by their given worldly name after they pass away, then you are somehow binding them to this world and retarding their journey to the afterlife. Properly speaking, the dead should be referred to by their posthumous Buddhist names, if at all. The Buddhist name prevents the dead from entering the mortal world if their worldly name is uttered. And, traditionally, old-fashioned kanji are used for the Buddhist name to avoid the name falling into everyday conversations.
I took this photo at the small Jokakuji Temple in Shinjuku-sanchome in central Tokyo on Saturday, March 25, 2023, which was a dull, rainy day.