Translation guide
A place where dead bodies are kept, especially for identification or before burial. In Japanese, the term depends on the context: hospital, police, or funeral home.
The room in a hospital where dead bodies are kept temporarily.
Standard term for a hospital morgue. Literally 'spirit peace room'.
遺体は霊安室に運ばれた。
The body was taken to the morgue.
More direct term meaning 'corpse storage place'. Used in official or police contexts.
死体安置所で身元確認が行われた。
Identification was carried out at the morgue.
A facility where autopsies are performed and unidentified bodies are kept, often by the police.
Medical examiner's office, especially in Tokyo. Handles unnatural deaths.
遺体は監察医務院に送られ、解剖された。
The body was sent to the medical examiner's office and autopsied.
Forensic medicine department at a university, often acting as a morgue for police cases.
身元不明の遺体は法医学教室に安置された。
The unidentified body was placed in the forensic medicine department.
A room where the deceased is laid out for viewing before a funeral.
Room where the body is placed in the coffin, often used for family viewing.
納棺室で最後のお別れをした。
We said our final goodbyes in the viewing room.
The venue for the wake, where the body is present. Not exactly 'morgue' but culturally equivalent setting.
お通夜の会場に遺体が安置されていた。
The body was laid out at the wake venue.
A newspaper's archive of past articles and reference materials.
General term for a reference room or archive in an organization.
その記事は新聞社の資料室で見つけた。
I found the article in the newspaper's morgue.
Literally 'newspaper clipping storage'. Specific but less common.
昔の事件は新聞の切り抜き保管庫で調べた。
I researched the old case in the newspaper morgue.
The loanword モルグ exists but is rarely used and may not be understood. Stick to the context-appropriate Japanese terms.
Japanese distinguishes clearly between hospital, police, and funeral settings. Choose the term based on who is handling the body.