cremated remains; ashes; bones
Primarily refers to the bone fragments collected after cremation, but can also refer to the ashes in general. Common in funeral and memorial contexts.
We placed my grandmother's cremated remains in the grave.
Picking up the bones after cremation was a painful experience.
remains of war dead
Used specifically for the remains of soldiers or civilians who died in war, often in the context of recovery and repatriation.
The remains of the war dead were returned to their hometown.
Efforts to collect the remains of war dead from former battlefields continue.
The family brought their father's remains back home.
We laid my grandmother's remains to rest in the family grave.
The remains of the missing person were found in the mountains.
遺骨 refers to the cremated remains of an ordinary person, while 舎利 is reserved for the venerated remains of a Buddha or holy figure.
コツ in this sense refers to the actual bone fragments collected after cremation, while 遺骨 is the broader, more formal term for a person's cremated remains as a whole.
遺骨 refers to a deceased person's remains or ashes in a funerary context, while 人骨 is the neutral, anatomical or forensic term for human bone.
Compound of 遺 (i, 'leave behind') + 骨 (kotsu, 'bone'). The reading いこつ is the standard on'yomi combination.