Iiyama Butsudan

Made to be seen

Iiyama altars are mainly for the Jodo Shinshu school. Their kuden inner shrine is built with bracket work called hijiki kumimono, and a bow-shaped yumi-nageshi lintel is designed so the worshipper can see the decoration well. Gold leaf is laid by tsuyadashi-oshi for a glossy finish. Altars come apart easily, so a dulled one can be re-lacquered to shine again. It is made in Iiyama in Nagano.

Eight crafts in one town

• Kiji: the outer wooden body of pine, cedar or ho.
• Kuden: the roof of the inner shrine.
• Carving: flowers, birds and other decoration.
• Fittings: metal fittings, chased with the keri-bori kicking-chisel stroke.
• Maki-e, gold leaf, lacquering and final assembly complete the eight departments, all within Iiyama.

A town of temples

Iiyama has been a castle town since Uesugi Kenshin built its castle in 1579, and a river port on the Chikuma River where the salt road began. A local song names 36 temples. Altar making took root in the Edo period, helped by deep faith, easy access to materials and a suitable climate. A gold altar once cost about a farm family's yearly income, and altars sold best between the mid-1960s and the mid-1980s as Japan grew richer.