Kyo Butsudan

A head temple in miniature

Kyoto has over 100 head temples of Japan's Buddhist schools, more than 3,000 temples and many national treasures. Kyo Butsudan faithfully reproduce, in miniature, the main halls of these head temples. Known as kyo-mono, Kyoto goods, they are prized for their dignity and spirituality and for a soft, moist gold that is distinctly Kyoto. They are made in Kyoto, Uji, Kameoka, Joyo, Muko, Nagaokakyo, Kizugawa and Nantan in Kyoto.

Some 2,000 parts

• An altar has about 2,000 parts, each made by specialists.
• The craftsmen, called kobu, are split into wooden body, wood carving, lacquer, gold leaf, maki-e and colouring, and metal fittings, and each is divided further.
• The merchants, called shobu, bring all the parts together, carry out the final assembly and finishing, and sell the altars across Japan.

From samurai cabinets to every home

The butsudan grew out of the zushi, a cabinet for sacred images, and was at first used mainly by samurai. From the early Edo period, the shogunate's religious inspections meant more households needed an altar, and the making of household altars began in earnest.