Kanazawa Butsudan

Kaga splendour

Kaga is known as a kingdom of Jodo Shinshu Buddhism, so demand for altars was always high. Kanazawa altars draw on the maki-e and carving skills of the Kaga domain's workshops and use gold leaf lavishly. Maki-e is done by the hon-kin togidashi migaki method of polished real gold, and gold and silver kirikane cut-foil adds splendour. It is made in Kanazawa in Ishikawa, also home to Kanazawa gold leaf.

From wood to gold

• The body is built mainly of ginkgo, hinoki, pine and cedar, with fine woods like ebony for some front panels.
• Carving can use ivory and coral.
• It is lacquered and fitted with metal fittings of copper or silver.
• Maki-e, gold leaf and finishing complete the altar.

Rennyo and the Kaga lords

Kanazawa altars date back to the 17th century. In the Muromachi period the monk Rennyo spread Jodo Shinshu across Hokuriku, and the Kaga lords' workshops trained fine craftsmen. Under the shogunate's religious inspections, the Kaga domain encouraged every home to keep an altar, and the wealth of the million-koku domain fed a lavish culture of gold leaf and maki-e. Some old altars would cost over 50 million yen to recreate today.