Traditional craft
Owari Butsugu
尾張仏具
Lacquered wooden Buddhist articles from the Owari area of Aichi and Gifu, the only place in Japan still making mokugyo fish drums.
Key facts
- Officially recognised
- 26 January 2017
- Type
- Buddhist altars
- Region
- Chubu
- Official name in Japanese
- 尾張仏具
- Official area (in Japanese)
- 愛知県名古屋市、一宮市、瀬戸市、春日井市、津島市、刈谷市、犬山市、江南市、小牧市、稲沢氏、東海市、大府市、知立市、尾張旭市、日進市、愛西市、清須市、弥富氏、大治町、岐阜県 岐阜市、多治見市、海津市
The last mokugyo makers
Owari Butsugu are mainly wooden lacquered articles with vivid finishes, from Buddha images to altar fittings and wooden flowers. Each process is specialised by Buddhist school and by temple or household use, so good articles can be made in quantity. The mokugyo, the wooden fish drum struck during chanting, and the marukin-dai stand are now made only in Owari. It is made around Nagoya and many other cities in Aichi, and in Gifu, Tajimi and Kaizu in Gifu.
Eight specialist skills
- Wooden bodies are made: Buddha images of pine, hinoki, kaya or sandalwood, mokugyo of camphor, mulberry or zelkova.
- Carving, lacquer and colouring follow.
- Metal fittings, gold leaf, maki-e and chinkin gold inlay complete each piece.
- Every piece is made to the specification of its school, use and the altar it will stand in.
Samurai side work
Owari Butsugu has been made around Nagoya since about the early Edo period. Using the fine timber from around Owari, it grew in the late Edo period as side work for lower-ranking samurai.
Good to know
- A mokugyo from Owari is a piece of Buddhist sound you can take home.
- The makers' association is based in Monzencho, Nagoya, near Osu's altar shops.
Questions travellers ask
What is a mokugyo?
A wooden fish-shaped drum struck to keep rhythm during Buddhist chanting.
Where are mokugyo made in Japan?
Only in the Owari area today.
Where it comes from
More crafts from the same area
Local foods from the same area
Heritage stories from the same area
Sources
We checked the facts on this page against these sources.