Traditional craft
Osaka Butsudan
大阪仏壇
Gold household Buddhist altars from Osaka, a craft traced to the Baekje craftsmen who built Shitennoji temple, made in 11 stages.
Key facts
- Officially recognised
- 1 November 1982
- Type
- Buddhist altars
- Region
- Kansai
- Official name in Japanese
- 大阪仏壇
- Official area (in Japanese)
- 大阪市、八尾市、東大阪市、堺市、岸和田市他
A type for every school
Osaka makes a different altar for each Buddhist school, and the hasso fittings on the door fronts show which. Inside, raised taka-maki-e is painted to look like metal fittings nailed on, which protects the wood from real nails. Gilded pillars and carvings are finished with elegant colour. It is made in Osaka, Yao, Higashiosaka, Sakai, Kishiwada and other cities in Osaka.
Eleven stages
- Pine, cedar and hinoki are made into the body, inner shrine and shumidan dais, each shaped for its school.
- The altar is lacquered and gold-leafed.
- Fittings and maki-e are added.
- The work is divided into 11 stages, each by its own specialists.
Craftsmen from Baekje
In 552, Buddhist craftsmen and temple builders were sent from the Korean kingdom of Baekje to the port of Naniwa-tsu, today's Osaka. When Prince Shotoku built Google Maps 四天王寺 (opens in a new tab) in 593, he also invited Baekje craftsmen and settled them nearby. Osaka's altar and Buddhist-article trade is said to grow from them. The prototype of the Osaka altar, with tenon joints, doors and sliding screens that make it easy to move, was devised by a Buddhist sculptor in the city.
Good to know
- Visit Shitennoji, the temple at the root of Osaka's altar craft.
- Look at the door fittings: their shape tells you the Buddhist school.
Questions travellers ask
How did altar making start in Osaka?
It is said to come from Baekje craftsmen settled in Osaka when Shitennoji was built.
Why do Osaka altars use painted fittings?
Raised maki-e looks like metal fittings but avoids damaging the wood with nails.
Where it comes from
More crafts from the same area
Local foods from the same area
Heritage stories from the same area
- Hinenosho: a medieval estate next to Kansai Airport
- Kamenose: crossing the landslide heart of the Tatsuta Kodo
- Katsuragi Shugen: where mountain asceticism began
- Kawachinagano: a town where the Middle Ages live on
- Kitamaebune: the merchant ships that made Japan's port towns rich
- Nyonin Koya: the temples where women prayed instead of Mount Koya
- Saigoku 33 Kannon Pilgrimage: Japan's 1,300-year journey of the heart
- Takenouchi Kaido and Yokooji: Japan's oldest national road
Sources
We checked the facts on this page against these sources.