Information processing apparatus, information processing method, program, and information processing system

Abstract

It aims to reduce the burden on the priest, etc. regarding the guidance service for the ceremony to mourn the deceased. 【Solution means】The information processing apparatus 2 according to this embodiment includes a first storage unit 221 that stores information of the deceased including the deceased identification information for identifying the deceased and the information of the anniversary of the death of the deceased, a second storage unit 222 that stores information of the donor including the donor identification information for identifying the donor associated with the deceased and the contact information of the donor, an input unit 231 that receives a creation command for guiding the ceremony to mourn the deceased, and based on the creation command, at least one of the posthumous name, secular name, anniversary of death, and memorial service of the deceased stored in the first storage unit 221, and at least one of the name and contact information of the donor stored in the second storage unit 222, and a creation unit 235 that creates a guidance including the above, and an output unit 236 that outputs the created guidance.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus, an information processing method, a program, and an information processing system for executing processing for guiding ceremonies such as funerals.

Background Art

[0002] Patent Document 1 discloses a funeral management system for enabling selection of a temple where a funeral can be held even if one is not a parishioner of a specific temple.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] Since ceremonies for mourning the deceased such as funerals are directly linked to the income of the temple, the abbot of the temple guides the relatives who have the temple as their parishioners to the ceremony for mourning the deceased of their relatives. Since the death anniversary is different for each deceased person, the date on which the ceremony should be held is also different for each deceased person.

[0005] Conventionally, when the date of the ceremony for each deceased person approaches, the abbot refers to a paper ledger that manages the death anniversary of each deceased person and sends a notice of the ceremony to the parishioners, so there is a problem that the burden on the abbot regarding the ceremony guidance work is large.

[0006] Therefore, the present invention has been made in view of these points, and an object thereof is to reduce the burden on the abbot and the like regarding the work of guiding the ceremony for mourning the deceased.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0007] An information processing apparatus according to a first aspect of the present invention includes a first storage unit that stores information of a deceased person including deceased person identification information for identifying the deceased person and information of the death anniversary of the deceased person, a second storage unit that stores information of a benefactor including benefactor identification information for identifying a benefactor associated with the deceased person and contact information of the benefactor, an input unit that receives an instruction to create a guidance for a ceremony for mourning the deceased person, and a creation unit that creates the guidance including at least one of a posthumous name, a secular name, a death anniversary, and an anniversary of the death of the deceased person stored in the first storage unit and at least one of the name and contact information of the benefactor stored in the second storage unit based on the creation instruction, and an output unit that outputs the created guidance.

[0008] The information processing apparatus may further include a first extraction unit that refers to the first storage unit and extracts information of a deceased person for whom the ceremony should be performed within the period when the input unit receives an input of a period that is a candidate for the implementation of the ceremony.

[0009] The first storage unit may further store an implementation record including the cost of the ceremony associated with the deceased person, and the information processing apparatus may further include a cost calculation unit that refers to the first storage unit and calculates the total cost of the ceremony performed within the period when the input unit receives an input of a period that is the day when the ceremony was performed.

[0010] The information processing apparatus may further include a candidate date determination unit that refers to the first storage unit and determines a candidate date for the next ceremony regarding the deceased person, and the output unit may output the candidate date when the period until the candidate date becomes a predetermined period or less.

[0011] The information processing apparatus may further include a third storage unit that stores information of a person related to the benefactor, and a registration update unit that refers to the third storage unit, outputs a candidate person to be a new benefactor when the input unit receives an input indicating that the benefactor has died, registers a person selected from the candidate persons as a new benefactor in the second storage unit, and further registers the deceased benefactor as a deceased person in the first storage unit.

[0012] The information processing apparatus may further include a third storage unit that stores information of persons related to the donor, and a second extraction unit that refers to the third storage unit and extracts the person related to whom the guidance is to be sent according to the attribute of the person related.

[0013] The information of the person related may include the blood relationship between the donor and the person related, and the second extraction unit may refer to the third storage unit and extract the person related to whom the guidance is to be sent according to the blood relationship between the donor and the person related.

[0014] An information processing method according to a second aspect of the present invention includes a first storage unit that stores information of a deceased person including deceased person identification information for identifying the deceased person and information of the death anniversary of the deceased person, and a second storage unit that stores information of a donor including donor identification information for identifying a donor related to the deceased person and the contact information of the donor. The method includes steps of: receiving, by a computer having the first storage unit and the second storage unit, a creation instruction for a guidance for a ceremony for mourning the deceased person; creating, based on the creation instruction, the guidance including at least one of a posthumous Buddhist name, a secular name, a death anniversary, and an anniversary of the death of the deceased person stored in the first storage unit and at least one of the name and the contact information of the donor stored in the second storage unit; and outputting the created guidance.

[0015] A program according to a third aspect of the present invention causes a processor of an information processing apparatus having a first storage unit that stores information of a deceased person including deceased person identification information for identifying the deceased person and information of the death anniversary of the deceased person, and a second storage unit that stores information of a donor including donor identification information for identifying a donor related to the deceased person and the contact information of the donor, to function as an input unit that receives a creation instruction for a guidance for a ceremony for mourning the deceased person, a creation unit that creates the guidance including at least one of a posthumous Buddhist name, a secular name, a death anniversary, and an anniversary of the death of the deceased person stored in the first storage unit and at least one of the name and the contact information of the donor stored in the second storage unit based on the creation instruction, and an output unit that outputs the created guidance.

[0016] An information processing system according to a fourth aspect of the present invention includes an information processing apparatus and an information terminal capable of communicating with the information processing apparatus. The information processing apparatus includes a first storage unit that stores information of a deceased person including deceased person identification information for identifying the deceased person and information of the death anniversary of the deceased person, a second storage unit that stores information of a benefactor including benefactor identification information for identifying a benefactor associated with the deceased person and contact information of the benefactor, an input unit that receives a creation command for creating a guidance for a ceremony for mourning the deceased person, and a creation unit that creates the guidance including at least one of the posthumous name, secular name, death anniversary, and memorial service of the deceased person stored in the first storage unit and at least one of the name and contact information of the benefactor stored in the second storage unit based on the creation command, and an output unit that outputs the created guidance. The information terminal has a terminal communication unit that transmits command data indicating the creation command to the information processing apparatus and receives guidance data indicating the created guidance from the information processing apparatus.

Effect of the Invention

[0017] According to the present invention, there is an effect that the burden on a priest or the like regarding the guidance work for a ceremony for mourning the deceased person can be reduced.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0018]

Figure 1

Figure 2

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Figure 8

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Figure 10

Figure 11

Embodiments for Carrying Out the Invention

[0019] [Overview of the Information Processing System S] FIG. 1 is a diagram for explaining the overview of the information processing system S. The information processing system S is a system for creating a guide for a ceremony for mourning a deceased person. The ceremony for mourning a deceased person is, for example, a religious service, but may also be an all-night vigil or a funeral. The religious service is, for example, an annual memorial service, but may also be an anniversary memorial service, a monthly memorial service, or a memorial service. In the following, the case where the ceremony for mourning a deceased person is an annual memorial service will be described as an example.

[0020] Conventionally, the priest or the like has managed the death anniversary of a deceased person of a relative who has a temple as a parishioner in a paper ledger or the like, and when the date of the religious service for the deceased person approaches, the priest has sent a notice to the donor. However, there are many types of annual memorial services and their implementation periods are long (first anniversary, third anniversary, seventh anniversary, thirteenth anniversary... hundredth anniversary), and since the dates of the annual memorial services are different for each deceased person, it has required a considerable amount of labor for the priest to send the notice of the religious service without forgetting. Therefore, the information processing system S is configured to reduce the burden on the priest of creating a guide for the religious service including the information of the deceased person and the information of the donor corresponding to the deceased person.

[0021] The information processing system S includes an information terminal 1 and an information processing device 2. The information terminal 1 is an information terminal used by a user U who is a temple-related person (such as a priest, a clerk in a temple, etc.), and is, for example, a personal computer, a tablet, or a smartphone. The information terminal 1 can communicate with the information processing device 2. The information processing device 2 is a computer that creates a Buddhist ceremony guide, and is, for example, a server.

[0022] Hereinafter, with reference to FIG. 1, the basic operation of the information processing system S will be described. When the information terminal 1 receives a creation command for a Buddhist ceremony guide from the user U, the information terminal 1 transmits command data indicating the received creation command to the information processing device 2 (see (1) in FIG. 1). The command data includes, for example, an implementation candidate period indicating the period during which the Buddhist ceremony can be held, which is input by the user U.

[0023] The information processing device 2 that has received the command data for creating a Buddhist ceremony guide creates a Buddhist ceremony guide that includes at least one of the posthumous name, secular name, death date, and anniversary of the deceased, and at least one of the name and contact information of the benefactor. The posthumous name given to the deceased is not limited to a Buddhist name (such as Tendai sect, Shingon sect, Soto sect, etc.), and may be a Dharma name (Jodo Shinshu sect) or a Buddhist title (Nichiren sect), etc. The benefactor is, for example, a lay believer or a disciple.

[0024] The information processing device 2 determines, for example, the candidate date for the next Buddhist ceremony based on the death date of the deceased included in the past ledger data, and extracts the information of the deceased whose determined candidate date for implementation is included in the implementation candidate period indicated by the command data. In addition, the information processing device 2 extracts the information of the benefactor corresponding to the extracted deceased by referring to the current ledger data that manages, for example, the contact information of the benefactor. In this way, the information processing device 2 creates guide data indicating a Buddhist ceremony guide that includes the information of the deceased and the information of the benefactor.

[0025] The information processing device 2 transmits guidance data indicating the created Buddhist memorial service guidance to the information terminal 1 used by the user U (see (2) in FIG. 1). The information terminal 1 displays the received guidance data. As a result, the user U can confirm that the candidate date for the next Buddhist memorial service includes the information of the deceased person included in the candidate period input by the user U and the information of the benefactor who is the target of guiding the Buddhist memorial service for the deceased person.

[0026] When the user U confirms the displayed information of the deceased person and the information of the benefactor and determines that there is no problem, the user U may request a printing company to print the content of the guidance data on a letter or a postcard, or may instruct the printing machine in the temple to print the content of the guidance data on a letter or a postcard (see (3) in FIG. 1). The printing company or the user U guides the Buddhist memorial service by sending a letter or a postcard on which the content of the guidance data is printed to the benefactor or their family (see (4) in FIG. 1). The user U may also send an email or a short message indicating the content of the guidance data to the benefactor or their family.

[0027] As described above, the information processing device 2 creates a Buddhist memorial service guidance including the information of the deceased person and the information of the benefactor based on a creation command from the user U who is the priest. As a result, the user U no longer needs to manage the death anniversary of each deceased person using a paper ledger or the like as in the past. As a result, the burden on the user U regarding the Buddhist memorial service guidance work can be reduced. In addition, since the omission of the implementation of the Buddhist memorial service due to forgetting to issue the Buddhist memorial service guidance is less than in the past, an improvement in the profit situation of the temple can also be expected. Furthermore, from the perspective of the benefactor or their family, they can safely entrust the temple with the management of the implementation date of the Buddhist memorial service.

[0028] [Configuration of Information Terminal 1] The configuration of the information terminal 1 will be described. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of the information terminal 1. The information terminal 1 includes a terminal communication unit 11, a display unit 12, an operation unit 13, a storage unit 14, and a control unit 15. The control unit 15 includes a display processing unit 151 and an operation reception unit 152.

[0029] The terminal communication unit 11 is a communication interface for communicating with the information processing device 2 via a communication network such as the Internet. The terminal communication unit 11 transmits the command data indicating the creation command of the Buddhist ceremony guidance, which is input from the operation reception unit 152, to the information processing device 2. The terminal communication unit 11 inputs the guidance data indicating the created Buddhist ceremony guidance, which is received from the information processing device 2, to the display processing unit 151.

[0030] The display unit 12 is composed of, for example, a liquid crystal display or an organic EL (Electro-Luminescence) display. The display unit 12 displays various information according to the control of the display processing unit 151. The display unit 12 displays the content of the Buddhist ceremony guidance indicated by the guidance data. The operation unit 13 is a device that receives the operation of the user U, and is, for example, a keyboard, a mouse, or a touch panel.

[0031] The storage unit 14 is a storage medium including a ROM (Read Only Memory) and a RAM (Random Access Memory). The storage unit 14 stores the programs executed by the control unit 15. For example, the storage unit 14 stores the programs that cause the control unit 15 to function as the display processing unit 151 and the operation reception unit 152.

[0032] The control unit 15 is, for example, a CPU (Central Processing Unit). The control unit 15 functions as the display processing unit 151 and the operation reception unit 152 by executing the programs stored in the storage unit 14.

[0033] The display processing unit 151 causes the display unit 12 to display various information. The display processing unit 151 causes the display unit 12 to display, for example, the content of the Buddhist ceremony guidance indicated by the guidance data input from the terminal communication unit 11.

[0034] The operation reception unit 152 receives the input of the creation command of the Buddhist ceremony guidance from the user U, and inputs the command data indicating the received creation command to the terminal communication unit 11.

[0035] [Configuration of Information Processing Apparatus 2] The configuration of information processing apparatus 2 will be described. Fig. 3 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of information processing apparatus 2. Information processing apparatus 2 includes an apparatus communication unit 21, a storage unit 22, and a control unit 23. The storage unit 22 includes a first storage unit 221, a second storage unit 222, and a third storage unit 223. The control unit 23 includes an input unit 231, a candidate date determination unit 232, a first extraction unit 233, a second extraction unit 234, a creation unit 235, an output unit 236, a cost calculation unit 237, and a registration update unit 238.

[0036] The apparatus communication unit 21 is a communication interface for communicating with the information terminal 1 via a communication network such as the Internet. The apparatus communication unit 21 inputs the command data indicating the creation command of the Buddhist memorial service guidance received from the information terminal 1 to the input unit 231. The apparatus communication unit 21 transmits the guidance data indicating the Buddhist memorial service guidance input from the output unit 236 to the information terminal 1.

[0037] The storage unit 22 is a storage medium including a ROM, a RAM, etc. The storage unit 22 stores the programs executed by the control unit 23. For example, the storage unit 22 stores an information processing program that causes the control unit 23 to function as the input unit 231, the candidate date determination unit 232, the first extraction unit 233, the second extraction unit 234, the creation unit 235, the output unit 236, the cost calculation unit 237, and the registration update unit 238.

[0038] The first storage unit 221 stores the ledger data for managing the information of the deceased person including the death date of the deceased person. The second storage unit 222 stores the ledger data for managing the information of the donor including the contact information of the donor. The third storage unit 223 stores the family ledger data for managing the information of the relatives of the donor (for example, the family members of the donor).

[0039] FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of past ledger data stored in the first storage unit 221. In the past ledger data, a donor ID, a deceased person ID, a posthumous name, a secular name, a death anniversary, a next memorial service date, and a record of the performance of the memorial service are associated with each other. The donor ID is donor identification information for identifying a donor. The deceased person ID is deceased person identification information for identifying a deceased person. The next memorial service date is a candidate date for the performance of the next memorial service, for example, a date determined by a candidate date determination unit 232 described later based on the death anniversary of the deceased person. There may be one candidate date for the performance, or there may be a plurality of candidate dates. The record of the performance of the memorial service includes, for example, the date of the performance of the memorial service and the cost of the memorial service. The record of the performance of the memorial service may include the date on which a memorial service for which the temple has not yet recovered the cost among the memorial services that have been performed and the amount not yet recovered.

[0040] FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of current ledger data stored in the second storage unit 222. In the current ledger data, a donor ID, the name of the donor, the contact information of the donor, the address of the donor, and a guide flag for the donor are associated with each other. The guide flag for the donor is a flag indicating whether the donor wishes to receive a guide for the memorial service, and may be set for each medium of the guide or for each anniversary of the memorial service. The medium of the guide is a postcard, a letter, an email, a short message, or the like.

[0041] FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of family register data stored in the third storage unit 223. In the family register data, a donor ID, a related person ID, the name of the related person, the contact information of the related person, the address of the related person, a guide flag for the related person, and the relationship with the donor are associated with each other. The guide flag for the related person is a flag indicating whether a related person of the donor wishes to receive a guide for the memorial service, and may be set for each medium of the guide or for each anniversary of the memorial service. The relationship with the donor is information indicating, for example, the blood relationship between the donor and the related person, and specifically, information indicating what degree of kinship the related person corresponds to from the perspective of the donor.

[0042] The control unit 23 is, for example, a CPU. By executing the information processing program stored in the storage unit 22, the control unit 23 functions as an input unit 231, a candidate date determination unit 232, a first extraction unit 233, a second extraction unit 234, a creation unit 235, an output unit 236, a cost calculation unit 237, and a registration update unit 238.

[0043] The input unit 231 receives the input of various information. The input unit 231 receives, for example, a creation command for the Buddhist service guidance. The input unit 231 may receive the creation command for the Buddhist service guidance by receiving command data indicating the creation command for the Buddhist service guidance from the information terminal 1 via the device communication unit 21. The command data may include an implementation candidate period indicating a period that is a candidate for the implementation of the Buddhist service, which is input by the user U. The input unit 231 inputs the received command data to the first extraction unit 233.

[0044] The candidate date determination unit 232 refers to the first storage unit 221 and determines the candidate date for the next Buddhist service. The candidate date determination unit 232 determines, for example, the candidate date for the next Buddhist service based on the death date of the deceased person included in the past ledger data (Figure 4) stored in the first storage unit 221 and the current date in response to an instruction for determining the candidate date being input from the input unit 231. The candidate date determination unit 232 updates the candidate date for the next Buddhist service every time an instruction is input regularly (for example, on the 1st of each month). The candidate date determination unit 232 stores the information indicating the determined candidate date for the next Buddhist service in the first storage unit 221 as past ledger data. In addition, the candidate date determination unit 232 inputs the information indicating the determined candidate date for the next Buddhist service to the output unit 236.

[0045] When the first extraction unit 233 receives an input of an implementation candidate period, which is the period during which the input unit 231 is an implementation candidate for a Buddhist memorial service, it refers to the first storage unit 221 and extracts information on the deceased person for whom the Buddhist memorial service should be held within the implementation candidate period. For example, in response to receiving an input of command data from the input unit 231, the first extraction unit 233 refers to the ledger data and extracts information on the deceased person whose next Buddhist memorial service implementation candidate date is included in the implementation candidate period indicated by the command data. The first extraction unit 233 inputs the information on the deceased person extracted from the ledger data to the second extraction unit 234 and the creation unit 235.

[0046] The second extraction unit 234 refers to the third storage unit 223 and extracts the relevant persons to whom the notice of the Buddhist memorial service should be sent according to the attributes of the relevant persons. For example, the second extraction unit 234 refers to the third storage unit 223 and extracts the relevant persons to whom the notice of the Buddhist memorial service should be sent according to the blood relationship between the donor and the relevant persons. The second extraction unit 234 may refer to the family register data (Fig. 6) stored in the third storage unit 223 and identify the relevant persons associated with the donor ID corresponding to the information on the deceased person input from the first extraction unit 233. Then, the second extraction unit 234 may extract the relevant persons among the identified relevant persons whose blood relationship with the donor satisfies a predetermined blood relationship (for example, within the second degree of kinship).

[0047] The second extraction unit 234 may change the predetermined blood relationship that is the extraction condition for the relevant persons according to the number of anniversaries of the death for the Buddhist memorial service. For example, as the number of anniversaries of the death increases, the degree of kinship of the predetermined blood relationship may be decreased. Specifically, the second extraction unit 234 may perform processing such as extracting relevant persons within the third degree of kinship for the seventh anniversary of the death, extracting relevant persons within the second degree of kinship for the thirteenth anniversary of the death, and extracting relevant persons within the first degree of kinship for the seventeenth anniversary of the death. The second extraction unit 234 inputs the information on the relevant persons extracted from the family register data to the creation unit 235.

[0048] Based on the creation instruction of the Buddhist ceremony guidance received by the input unit 231, the creation unit 235 creates a Buddhist ceremony guidance that includes at least one of the posthumous name, common name, death date, and anniversary of the deceased stored in the first storage unit 221 and at least one of the name and contact information of the benefactor stored in the second storage unit 222. For example, the creation unit 235 creates guidance data for the Buddhist ceremony that includes the information of the deceased input from the first extraction unit 233 and the information of the benefactor in the address book data associated with the benefactor ID corresponding to the deceased. The creation unit 235 inputs the created guidance data into the output unit 236.

[0049] By creating the Buddhist ceremony guidance in this way by the creation unit 235, the user U does not need to refer to the paper ledger that manages the death dates of each deceased person to create the Buddhist ceremony guidance. As a result, the burden on the user U regarding the Buddhist ceremony guidance business can be reduced.

[0050] The creation unit 235 may create guidance data for the Buddhist ceremony that includes the information of the related person input from the second extraction unit 234. This enables the issuance of the Buddhist ceremony guidance to the related person (for example, the family of the benefactor). Also, the creation unit 235 may create guidance data indicating the guidance text for the guidance medium in which the guidance flag is set to "desired" in the address book data or the family register data. As a result, since the Buddhist ceremony guidance can be issued by the guidance medium desired by the benefactor or the related person, the probability that the issued guidance is overlooked can be reduced.

[0051] The output unit 236 outputs the created Buddhist ceremony guidance. For example, the output unit 236 outputs the guidance data by transmitting the guidance data for the Buddhist ceremony input from the creation unit 235 to the information terminal 1 used by the user U via the device communication unit 21. As a result, when the user U checks the content of the guidance data and determines that there is no problem, the user U can send a letter or a postcard printed with the content of the guidance data to the benefactor, or send an email or a short message indicating the content of the guidance data to the benefactor.

[0052] FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of a memorial service guidance postcard created. In the guidance postcard, the name of the donor or the name of a relative of the donor is described at the location indicated by P1, the guidance text of the memorial service is described at the location indicated by P2, information about the deceased person (posthumous name, secular name, date of death, annual memorial service date, anniversary number) is described at the location indicated by P3, and information about the temple (temple name, telephone number) is described at the location indicated by P4. The information at the locations indicated by P1 and P3 is different for each deceased person. On the other hand, the information at the locations indicated by P2 and P4 is common to all deceased persons.

[0053] User U, who is the abbot, may sometimes want to collectively check the deceased persons for whom memorial services have not been performed yet. Therefore, as will be described below, the output unit 236 may display a list of deceased persons for whom memorial services should be performed by performing a search from the search screen.

[0054] FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of a search screen for searching for deceased persons for whom memorial services should be performed. On the search screen that is displayed when the "Anniversary Tab" is selected, user U, who is the abbot, inputs at least one of the anniversary date (candidate period for implementation) and the anniversary number as search conditions and then selects "Execute Search". When "Execute Search" is selected, the first extraction unit 233 refers to the ledger data (FIG. 4) and extracts the secular name, posthumous name, date of death, and next memorial service date of the deceased persons for whom memorial services have not been performed and who match the input search conditions. Also, the first extraction unit 233 refers to the implementation status data (not shown) in which the deceased person, the memorial service date, the memorial service target person (donor or their relative), and the memorial service guidance status by guidance medium are associated, and extracts the memorial service target person and the memorial service guidance status associated with the extracted deceased person and the next memorial service date.

[0055] The output unit 236 displays these extracted information on the display unit of the information terminal 1 used by user U as search results as shown in FIG. 8. By thus having the output unit 236 display a list of deceased persons for whom memorial services should be performed, user U can send the memorial service guidance to the donor or their family without forgetting.

[0056] Although user U can efficiently grasp the list of the deceased for whom memorial services should be held by referring to the search results, subsequent tasks, such as sending a postcard or letter indicating the details of the memorial service or sending an email, can be a burden for user U. Therefore, as described below, in response to an instruction from user U on the search screen, output unit 236 may instruct to send a postcard or letter or send an email.

[0057] Specifically, when the memorial service notification status by postcard is "not yet", in response to the "send" in the rightmost column of the search results in FIG. 8 being selected by user U, output unit 236 may transmit instruction data for instructing a printing company to send a postcard printed with the details of the memorial service for the deceased for whom "send" has been selected to the donor or related person to the information terminal of the printing company. Also, when the memorial service notification status by email is "not yet", in response to the "send" in the rightmost column of the search results in FIG. 8 being selected by user U, output unit 236 may send an email indicating the details of the memorial service for the deceased for whom "send" has been selected to the information terminal of the donor or related person.

[0058] In this way, user U can issue a memorial service notice by selecting "send" or "send email" on the search screen in FIG. 8 for donors or related persons who have not yet received a memorial service notice. As a result, user U no longer needs to perform tasks such as printing the memorial service notice on a postcard, sending the printed postcard, creating an email indicating the memorial service notice, etc., so the burden on user U regarding the memorial service notice business can be made lighter than before.

[0059] So far, an example has been described in which the creation unit 235 creates a Buddhist memorial service guidance based on the creation instruction of the user U who is the priest. However, there is a possibility that the user U may neglect or forget the creation instruction. In this case, the omission of the Buddhist memorial service guidance may occur. Therefore, when the period until the next candidate date for the Buddhist memorial service becomes equal to or less than a predetermined period, the output unit 236 may output the candidate date. The predetermined period is, for example, a period preset by the user U and stored in the storage unit 22 in association with the user U. For example, when the remaining period until the next candidate date for the Buddhist memorial service input from the candidate date determination unit 232 becomes two months or less, the output unit 236 transmits a list showing the common name, posthumous name, and death date of the deceased person and the next candidate date for the Buddhist memorial service of the deceased person to the information terminal 1 of the user U.

[0060] By operating in this way, the output unit 236 enables the user U to grasp the deceased person with a short remaining period until the next candidate date for the Buddhist memorial service even when the user U neglects or forgets the creation instruction for the Buddhist memorial service guidance. As a result, the omission of the Buddhist memorial service guidance can be suppressed.

[0061] Incidentally, the user U needs to recover the expenses related to the performed Buddhist memorial service from the donor. Therefore, when the input unit 231 receives the input of the executed period which is the date on which the Buddhist memorial service was performed, the expense calculation unit 237 refers to the first storage unit 221 and calculates the total expense of the Buddhist memorial services performed within the executed period. For example, the expense calculation unit 237 refers to the execution records of the Buddhist memorial services included in the past ledger data stored in the first storage unit 221, and extracts the Buddhist memorial services in which the service execution date is included in the executed period received by the input unit 231 among the Buddhist memorial services for which the temple has not yet recovered the expenses. Then, for example, the expense calculation unit 237 calculates the total amount of the outstanding amounts corresponding to the extracted Buddhist memorial services for each of the plurality of deceased persons. The expense calculation unit 237 inputs the information indicating the calculated amount to the output unit 236.

[0062] By calculating the funeral expenses in this way, the cost calculation unit 237 enables the user U to efficiently grasp the funeral expenses to be billed to the donor. As a result, it is possible to suppress the occurrence of a situation where, despite having conducted a funeral service, the expenses are not recovered because the billing to the donor has been neglected, thus expecting an improvement in the temple's revenue situation.

[0063] As described above, there are many types of annual memorial services and their implementation periods span a long time (for example, 50 to 100 years), so the donor may die during the implementation period. In this case, the donor becomes absent and it becomes impossible to guide the funeral service for the deceased person, and it also becomes impossible to guide the funeral service for mourning the deceased donor. Therefore, when the input unit 231 receives an input indicating that the donor has died, the registration update unit 238 may refer to the third storage unit 223 to output candidates who should become the new donor, and register the person selected from among the candidates in the second storage unit 222 as the new donor. For example, the registration update unit 238 refers to the family register data stored in the third storage unit 223, outputs the relevant persons corresponding to the deceased donor as candidates who should become the new donor, and registers the person selected from among the candidates as the new donor in the current account data stored in the second storage unit 222.

[0064] FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example of a donor list screen showing a list of donors. When "Registered in the Past Account" is selected on the donor list screen displayed when the "Current Account" tab is selected, the input unit 231 receives an input indicating that the donor has died. Note that the button for "Registered in the Past Account" may be provided not on the donor list screen but in a lower hierarchy (for example, the screen for detailed donor information) than the same screen.

[0065] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of a donor registration screen for registering a new donor. The registration update unit 238 displays the donor ID of the donor for whom "Registered in the Past Account" is selected on the donor list screen and the information of the relevant persons associated in the current account data as shown in FIG. 10. Then, the registration update unit 238 registers the relevant person for whom "Registered in the Current Account" is selected on the donor registration screen as the new donor in the current account data.

[0066] When the input unit 231 receives an input indicating that the donor has died, the registration update unit 238 may further register the deceased donor as a deceased person in the first storage unit 221. For example, the registration update unit 238 registers, as a deceased person, the donor for whom "registered in the family register" is selected on the donor list screen in FIG. 9 in the family register data stored in the first storage unit 221.

[0067] In this way, when the donor dies, the registration update unit 238 registers the selected related person as a new donor in the second storage unit 222 and registers the deceased donor as a deceased person in the first storage unit 221. As a result, it is possible to prevent the absence of the donor and issue the notice of the Buddhist service smoothly, and it is also possible to issue the notice of the Buddhist service for mourning the deceased donor to the related persons of the donor.

[0068] Note that, after a new donor is registered in the current register data when "registered in the current register" is selected on the donor registration screen (FIG. 10), the registration update unit 238 may register, in the family register data, the deceased former donor for whom "registered in the family register" is selected on the donor list screen (FIG. 9). By operating in this way, the registration update unit 238 can surely register a new donor in the current register data and prevent the incorrect registration of a donor who has not died in the family register data.

[0069] [Flow of processing executed by information processing apparatus 2] FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of processing executed by the information processing apparatus 2. The input unit 231 receives a creation instruction for a notice of a Buddhist service including an implementation candidate period indicating a period during which the Buddhist service is a candidate for implementation (S1). In response to an instruction for determining a candidate date being input from the input unit 231, the candidate date determination unit 232 determines the next implementation candidate date for the Buddhist service based on the death anniversary of the deceased person included in the family register data (FIG. 4) stored in the first storage unit 221 and the current date (S2). The implementation candidate date for each Buddhist service (e.g., ● anniversary of death) may be determined in advance before the reception of the creation instruction (S1).

[0070] The first extraction unit 233 extracts information of the deceased person whose next memorial service candidate date determined in S2 is included in the candidate period for implementation included in the creation instruction received in S1 (S3). The first extraction unit 233 refers to the ledger data (Figure 5) stored in the first storage unit 221 and extracts information of the donor corresponding to the deceased person extracted in S3 (name, contact information, etc.) (S4). The second extraction unit 234 refers to the family register data (Figure 6) stored in the third storage unit 223 and extracts blood relationship information of the related person corresponding to the donor extracted in S4 (information indicating what degree of kinship from the donor) (S5).

[0071] Based on the blood relationship information of the related person extracted in S5, the second extraction unit 234 determines whether the donor and the related person correspond to a predetermined blood relationship (for example, within the second degree of kinship from the donor) (S6). When the second extraction unit 234 determines that the donor and the related person correspond to a predetermined blood relationship (S6: YES), the second extraction unit 234 extracts information of the related person (name, contact information, etc.) (S7). The creation unit 235 creates a notice of the memorial service for the donor and the related person by creating a notice of the memorial service including the information of the deceased person extracted in S3, the information of the donor extracted in S4, and the information of the related person extracted in S7 (S8).

[0072] On the other hand, when the second extraction unit 234 determines that the donor and the related person do not correspond to a predetermined blood relationship (S6: NO), the second extraction unit 234 does not extract information of the related person (name, contact information, etc.). The creation unit 235 creates a notice of the memorial service for the donor by creating a notice of the memorial service including the information of the deceased person extracted in S3 and the information of the donor extracted in S4 (S9).

[0073] Note that, instead of S5 described above, the second extraction unit 234 may refer to the family register data (Figure 6) stored in the third storage unit 223 and extract information indicating the relationship between the donor and the related person extracted in S4. In this case, instead of S6 described above, the second extraction unit 234 may determine whether the related person corresponds to a predetermined person (for example, an important person such as a guardian or a distant but close relative) from the perspective of the donor. The subsequent processes of S7, S8, and S9 can be executed in the same manner as described above.

[0074] [Effect of the information processing apparatus 2] As described above, based on the memorial service guidance creation instruction received by the input unit 231, the creation unit 235 in the information processing apparatus 2 creates memorial service guidance including at least one of the posthumous name, secular name, death date, and anniversary of the deceased person stored in the first storage unit 221 and at least one of the name and contact information of the donor stored in the second storage unit 222. As a result, the user U no longer needs to manage the death dates of each deceased person using a paper ledger or the like as in the past. Consequently, the burden on the user U regarding the memorial service guidance work can be reduced.

[0075] Although the present invention has been described using embodiments, the technical scope of the present invention is not limited to the scope described in the above embodiments, and various modifications and changes are possible within the scope of the gist. For example, all or part of the device can be configured by functionally or physically dispersing and integrating it in any unit. Also, new embodiments resulting from any combination of a plurality of embodiments are included in the embodiments of the present invention. The effects of the new embodiments resulting from the combination have the effects of the original embodiments combined. [Explanation of Reference Numerals]

[0076] 1 Information terminal 11 Terminal communication unit 12 Display unit 13 Operation unit 14 Storage unit 15 Control unit 151 Display processing unit 152 Operation reception unit 2 Information processing apparatus 21 Apparatus communication unit 22 Storage unit 23 Control unit 221 First storage unit 222 Second storage unit 223 Third storage unit 231 Input unit 232 Candidate date determination unit 233 First extraction unit 234 Second extraction unit 235 Creation unit 236 Output unit 237 Cost calculation unit 238 Registration update unit S Information processing system

Claims

1. A first storage unit that stores information of the deceased person, including the information for identifying the deceased person and the information of the death anniversary of the deceased person; A second storage unit that stores information of the donor, including the information for identifying the donor associated with the deceased person and the contact information of the donor; A third storage unit that stores information of the related persons associated with the donor; An input unit that receives an input for creating a guidance for a ceremony for mourning the deceased person; A creation unit that creates the guidance including at least one of the posthumous name, the secular name, the death anniversary, and the anniversary of the death of the deceased person stored in the first storage unit and at least one of the name and the contact information of the donor stored in the second storage unit based on the creation instruction; An output unit that outputs the created guidance; A registration update unit that, when the input unit receives an input indicating the death of the donor, refers to the third storage unit, outputs candidates who should be the new donor, registers the person selected from among the candidates as the new donor in the second storage unit, and further registers the deceased donor as a deceased person in the first storage unit; An information processing apparatus having: an information processing apparatus.

2. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a first extraction unit that, when the input unit receives an input of a period during which the ceremony is a candidate for implementation, refers to the first storage unit and extracts information of the deceased person for whom the ceremony should be performed within the period. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1.

3. The first storage unit further stores an implementation record including the cost of the ceremony associated with the deceased person, The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a cost calculation unit that, when the input unit receives an input of a period that is the date on which the ceremony was performed, refers to the first storage unit and calculates the total cost of the ceremony performed within the period. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1.

4. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a candidate date determination unit that refers to the first storage unit and determines a candidate date for the next ceremony regarding the deceased person, The output unit outputs the candidate date for implementation when the period until the candidate date for implementation becomes a predetermined period or less. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1.

5. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a second extraction unit that refers to the third storage unit and extracts the related persons to whom the guidance should be sent according to the attributes of the related persons. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1.

6. The information of the related persons includes the blood relationship between the donor and the related persons, The second extraction unit refers to the third storage unit and extracts the related persons to whom the guidance should be sent according to the blood relationship between the donor and the related persons. The information processing apparatus according to claim 5.

7. A first storage unit that stores information of the deceased including the identification information of the deceased for identifying the deceased and the information of the death anniversary of the deceased; A second storage unit that stores information of the benefactor including the identification information of the benefactor for identifying the benefactor associated with the deceased and the contact information of the benefactor; A third storage unit that stores information of the related persons associated with the benefactor; executed by a computer having a step of receiving a creation command for guidance on a ceremony for mourning the deceased; based on the creation command, creating the guidance including at least one of the posthumous name, secular name, death anniversary, and anniversary of the deceased stored in the first storage unit and at least one of the name and contact information of the benefactor stored in the second storage unit; a step of outputting the created guidance; when receiving an input indicating that the benefactor has died, referring to the third storage unit, outputting candidates to be the new benefactor, registering the person selected from among the candidates as the new benefactor in the second storage unit, and further registering the deceased benefactor as the deceased in the first storage unit; having an information processing method.

8. A first storage unit that stores information of the deceased including the identification information of the deceased for identifying the deceased and the information of the death anniversary of the deceased; A second storage unit that stores information of the benefactor including the identification information of the benefactor for identifying the benefactor associated with the deceased and the contact information of the benefactor; A third storage unit that stores information of the related persons associated with the benefactor; a processor of an information processing apparatus having an input unit that receives a creation command for guidance on a ceremony for mourning the deceased; a creation unit that creates the guidance including at least one of the posthumous name, secular name, death anniversary, and anniversary of the deceased stored in the first storage unit and at least one of the name and contact information of the benefactor stored in the second storage unit based on the creation command; an output unit that outputs the created guidance; a registration update unit that, when the input unit receives an input indicating that the benefactor has died, refers to the third storage unit, outputs candidates to be the new benefactor, registers the person selected from among the candidates as the new benefactor in the second storage unit, and further registers the deceased benefactor as the deceased in the first storage unit; a program for causing it to function as

9. An information processing apparatus and an information terminal communicable with the information processing apparatus, The information processing apparatus is A first storage unit that stores information of a deceased person including deceased person identification information for identifying the deceased person and information of the death anniversary of the deceased person; A second storage unit that stores information of a benefactor including benefactor identification information for identifying a benefactor associated with the deceased person and contact information of the benefactor; A third storage unit that stores information of a person related to the benefactor; An input unit that receives an instruction for creating a guide for a ceremony for mourning the deceased person; A creation unit that creates the guide including at least one of the posthumous name, secular name, death anniversary, and anniversary of the deceased person stored in the first storage unit and at least one of the name and contact information of the benefactor stored in the second storage unit based on the creation instruction; An output unit that outputs the created guide; A registration update unit that, when the input unit receives an input indicating that the benefactor has died, refers to the third storage unit, outputs candidates to be new benefactors, registers a person selected from among the candidates as a new benefactor in the second storage unit, and further registers the deceased benefactor as a deceased person in the first storage unit; and The information terminal has a terminal communication unit that transmits instruction data indicating the creation instruction to the information processing device and receives guide data indicating the created guide from the information processing device. An information processing system.

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