Butsudan field trip

I'm currently enrolled in a Buddhism class as the elective class each student gets to chose. Its certainly been interesting so far, however, because I haven't had any background in Buddhism, the first few classes had a steep curve in understanding what was going on. Nevertheless, we have to go on field trips as part of our curriculum; So far, we've been to Nishi-Honganji, a Zen Temple to meditate, two other temples in the area, and a village where they make Buddhist altars.

At first when I heard about this field trip, it didn't seem very interesting. It sounded like we were going to go to a factory, where each part of these altars is assembled, and then shipped out. I couldn't have been more wrong.

Getting there was a short trip on the train: two stops north of Hikone to Samegai. Then, a 15 minute bus ride to this remote village in the mountains. Getting off the bus, it seemed like every other small Japanese town I've seen. A mix between traditional housing, some small shops, and fields out past the buildings. A local resident met us, and first took us to the store where people buy the Butsudan.

Walking into the shop, the smell of incense and resinous wood wafted over us, and we were invited up to the showroom, where about 25 Butsudan were on display. I've seen butsudan in people's homes before, they usually fit into a closet, and have doors that fold out. Inside the alter, pictures of dead relatives, images of Buddha, incense, flowers, and candles are placed as memorials to relatives that have passed on.

 A small Butsudan like the kind found in many Japanese Homes

The Butsudan that we saw were enormous, about 7 feet tall, and 5 feel wide. Inside, a miniature temple was built as a replica of the home temple that the altar is built after. As the owner of the store was explaining to us, each Butsudan requires 7 types of crafts in order to be made: Frame makers, Alter makers, Lacquerers, Metalworkers, Goldsmiths, Wood carvers, and Gold Lacquer Painters. Many of the tradesmen lived in this village, and the rest of the day was spent seeing examples of craftsmen at their work.

Driving around the village in the bed of a pick-up truck, we went from house to house seeing Woodworkers, metalworkers, carpenters, and lacquers. Instead of a giant factory, each craftsmen worked from his own home, usually in a family workshop. Many of these trades have been passed down from generation to generation, from master to apprentice. At each stop we saw examples of their work, and it was all incredible. I wish I had taken more photos of each shop, but I felt somewhat awkward taking pictures without asking first. But I was able to get pictures at our guide's home, where he invited us to snap pictures with a 'Neko-basu' ('Cat bus' from the move 'My Neighbor Totoro') that he made.

From Butsu-dan Village

From Butsu-dan Village

Before the end of the day, our guide took us to a local playhouse that was built for the villlage's children.

From Butsu-dan Village

On our way there, some children were playing in the road, and as we passed them the stopped what they were doing and started chasing after the truck full of foreigners. They became our guides in the forest behind their playhouse, where they showed us the ropes they use for scaling the steep hills.

From Butsu-dan Village

From Butsu-dan Village

And on our way home from the treehouse, I took a video of our ride through the picturesque countryside.



Afterwards I was quite happy that I went on the field trip. Instead of just a factory mindlessly working on these altars, the entire village is involved to create them. Each one is a product of many, many man-hours of skilled work that has been honed through the generations. The lifestyle is peaceful and quiet (execpt for the occasional truck-full of foreigners), contrasting the busy and rushed life in the cities.

From Butsu-dan Village