Up until the early modern ages, most people including Buddhists, were buried under the earth in a coffin, and in some cases, the bodies were left exposed to the vultures (sky burial) and other natural forces.
近世までは、仏教徒を含め、主流はむしろ棺桶を使った土葬であり、一部には鳥葬に代表される曝葬の習慣もあった。