Butsudan

[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.

A butsudan usually contains an array of subsidiary religious accessories, called butsugu, such as candlesticks, incense burners, bells, and platforms for placing offerings such as fruit, tea or rice.

Traditional Japanese beliefs hold the Butsudan to be a house of the Buddha, Bodhisattva, as well as of deceased relatives enshrined within it.

A butsudan usually houses a honzon, a statue or painting of the Buddha or a Buddhist deity that reflects the school which the family follows, though embroidered scrolls containing a mantric or sutric text are also common.

Other auxiliary items often found near the butsudan include tea, water and food (usually fruits or rice), an incense burner, candles, flowers, hanging lamps and evergreens.