Traditional craft
Sanjo Butsudan
三条仏壇
Gold household Buddhist altars from Sanjo in Niigata, modelled on real temple halls and finished with superb hand-made metal fittings.
Key facts
- Officially recognised
- 16 October 1980
- Type
- Buddhist altars
- Region
- Chubu
- Official name in Japanese
- 三条仏壇
- Official area (in Japanese)
- 新潟市、三条市、燕市
A temple in miniature
Sanjo altars are known for an orthodox kuden inner shrine modelled on temple halls, high-grade hon-urushi lacquer, gold leaf and superb metal fittings. Sanjo is a hardware town, so the fittings get special care: outer fittings on the doors and inner fittings are each made one by one. It is made in Niigata city, Sanjo and Tsubame in Niigata, the same area as Sanjo's forged blades.
Built, taken apart, rebuilt
- The wooden body is made and carved, then assembled with mortise-and-tenon joints.
- It is taken apart again and each part given a hard lacquer ground.
- Several kinds of lacquer are applied and dried.
- Gold powder and gold leaf are laid, maki-e is added, and the fittings are mounted before final assembly.
Butto Sanjo
Sanjo is called Butto Sanjo, the Buddhist capital. In the mid-Edo period a temple with halls said to be the finest in Hokuriku was built here, with many local craftsmen working under temple carpenters, joiners and fitting makers brought from Kyoto. As Jodo Shinshu spread from this temple, Sanjo began making altars, and the base of today's production area was set.
Good to know
- Look closely at the door fittings: Sanjo is a hardware town.
- Altars of wood, lacquer and metal are natural and can be fully recycled.
Questions travellers ask
Why are Sanjo fittings special?
Sanjo is a hardware town, and each outer and inner fitting is made by hand.
What are Sanjo altars modelled on?
The halls of real temples.
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.