Hiroshima Butsudan

Oyster shell under the gold

Hiroshima altars use a gofun ground made of finely crushed oyster shell, a Hiroshima speciality, under their lacquer. The tate-nuri top coat is highly regarded, and the gold-leaf work is excellent. In form they resemble Osaka altars. Sizes go by the inner width in go, about 3 cm each; the best seller is 18-go, and there are now designs for Western-style rooms in coloured lacquer, silver and white. It is made in Hiroshima, Mihara, Fukuyama, Fuchu, Miyoshi and other cities in Hiroshima.

Six departments

• The wooden body is assembled with mortise and tenon.
• The kuden inner shrine is built with stacked masu-gumi bracket work.
• Carving, metal fittings and maki-e are each made by their own crafts.
• The lacquer department applies the oyster-shell ground, the top coat and the gold leaf, and the parts are brought together into one altar.

From Kishu, then rebuilt

Jodo Shinshu has long been strong in Hiroshima. In 1619 Asano Nagaakira moved from Kishu to rule Hiroshima and brought skilled lacquer craftsmen, and in 1716 the monk Tonko went to Kyoto and Osaka to study altar making. In the Meiji era Hiroshima altars were shipped across Japan by Seto Inland Sea boats. The Second World War dealt the craft a devastating blow, and it was revived after the war.