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Butsudan

An ornate butsudan with open doors displaying an enshrined Amida Buddha. A Butsudan in the Jodo Shinshu Buddhism tradition.
Close-up view of the inner altar with the painted scroll of the Buddha

A Butsudan (仏壇, lit. "Buddhist altar"), sometimes spelled Butudan, is a shrine commonly found in temples and homes in Japanese Buddhist cultures.[1] A butsudan is either a defined, often ornate platform or simply a wooden cabinet sometimes crafted with doors that enclose and protect a Gohonzon or religious icon, typically a statue or painting of a Buddha or Bodhisattva, or a calligraphic mandala scroll.

The butsudan's primary use is for paying respects to the Buddha, as well as to family members who have died.

  1. ^ Reader (1995:55) notes: "Over 60% of Japanese households have a butsudan: many of the rest do not simply because no-one in the family has yet died and become an ancestor".

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