Assembling a Buddhist
altar, Osaka
Household Altars |
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A Meeting of Many Crafts
Buddhist household altars are much more an industry than a craft.
These opulent objects are, or at least were, an everyday part
of Japanese life; they do not relate to the lifestyle of other
countries and are included here simply because they exist and
still have importance in Japan.
To try to list all the craft techniques and stages in the
making of a household altar would take far more space than
is possible here. It is said that there are 2,000 stages and
processes involved in making an altar. This number seems a
bit excessive, but just a cursory glance at one of these extravaganzas
will reveal many different disciplines ofwoodworking
(cabinetry, fine joinery, carving, latticework, lathework,
etc.) as well as lacquer
work, metalwork, paper
(sometimes), and so forth.
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Altar accessories,
Kyoto Buddhist
Paraphernalia |
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Major Commitment
A household altar may, and commonly does, occupy an entire wall
of a room. The size is determined by the size of the house,
the prosperity of its occupants, the sect of Buddhism, the social
standing of the family, and a list of other sociological and
social considerations. Clearly, an urban apartment will have
a much smaller altar, if there is one at all, than a farmhouse
in which resides the head of a village.
The industry is spread quite evenly throughout the country,
as can be seen by a quick glance at the locations of the fifteen
altar makers included here. Each local maker has idiocyncracies
and uniquenesses, and such are determined by historical precedent
and the principal Buddhist sect of the region. |
| Traditional Japanese
candles, Kyoto Buddhist Paraphernalia |
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A Product of Peace and Prosperity
Clearly, such an expensive and massive object could and would
not be a part of a household if incessant war and threat of
having to flee before invading armies was the rule. Such a thing
is thus the product of extended peace and the developed economy
that accompanies such peace. Though household altars may have
existed in the age of civil strife (roughly 15th and 16th centuries)
in Japan, they were probably temporary structures or portable
things that could be grabbed in a hurry and carried away. The
lasting peace of the Edo period (1603-1868) and a settled nation
also saw the census of the population and the establishment
of a system of administrative control of the entire populace.
One unit of such control was the local Buddhist temple and the
temple parish.
The temple and its priest(s) had a tightly knit relationship
with temple parishioners in a manner similar to parish churches
in Europe and North America, including a counselar or decision-making
role in such things as marriage, naming children, rites of
passage, funerals and burials, etc. The symbol of continuity
of relationship between household and parish temple came to
be the Buddhist household altar, and the temple, in turn,
came to consider the household altars symbols of the temple's
importance to the household. Since different sects had different
altar designs, the allegiance of a household could be seen
at a glance. The pressure to purchase larger and more ornate
Buddhist altars increased with time and with increase in a
community's prosperity. This reached a peak in the so-called
bubble economy years in the late 1980s and received a serious
setback when the Japanese economy then slowed dramatically.
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Carving a Buddhist
statue, Kyoto
Buddhist Paraphernalia |
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No Frills and Frills
Today Buddhist altars are being produced, but the industry is
feeling its way cautiously with the maturation of the country's
economy and its more realistic and slower energy. Bringing the
size of altars down to fit both apartment living and a slower
economy is the trend today. In Kanazawa, a minialtar, measuring
45 x 33 x 12 cm., small enough to hang on the wall, is being
produced. The makers are not cutting corners, however; the minialtars
are being made in the traditional manner with traditional materials.
The first trial run of 30 units sold out immediately. The same
company is now thinking of producing a Buddhist altar with a
drawer to hold a video tape of a deceased family member, so
the entire family can view the video on commemorative occasions.
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