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Wow, must date back to before the invention of shredders. 

42 minutes ago, roddy said:

Wow, must date back to before the invention of shredders.

Haha, very droll.

No doubt at some stubborn relic of feudal superstition ?

ETA beside a cemetery I presume?

Some temples have them too, though usually not as big as this.

My guess is that it's the place where you can burn the little pieces of paper on which your fortune is printed, what the Japanese call "omikuiji." I'm not really up on what you do with these things if you don't like the fortune they predict, but if it's good, my wife takes it home and shows it to her mother and her friends. I don't know what she does with it if it's bad. However, in Japan there's a place like a bulletin board you can tie it to to make sure it comes true. 

 

If, as I suspect, you can ask personal questions and receive real answers, then maybe people want to destroy any personal information or advice.

 

Anyway, just random speculation on my part...

 

TBZ

@TheBigZaboonYeah, I know the omikuji thing you're talking about. Like this, right? https://youtu.be/2-962QvKd68?list=PLJTjGGNdIxJofunTfR-aB_FuzjV0ZDJww&t=816

It seems if you get a bad fortune slip, you tie it up there to get good luck and never take it home.

 

I guessed wrong then....

 

How about it's the place you burn all the paper money and paper Mercedes Benz cars and such that relatives provide during funerals to ensure a high standard of living in the afterlife...

That's correct. The second guess.