In contrast to the wall-mounted kami-dana discussed last week, the Buddhist altar (butsudan 仏壇) is set on the floor. The early custom was to place it beneath the kami-dani in the hiroma, but with the addition of the zashiki it was moved into that room. In old minka without a decorative alcove (tokonoma 床の間), a magnificent butsudan was built in the zashiki, making it an ornamental element in place of the tokonoma. The image below, of the butsudan in the Yamamoto family residence, an important cultural property in Osaka prefecture, shows one such example. Typically, the butsudan was installed into an alcove around 90cm (half a ken) square.
In old rear zashiki (oku-zashiki 奥座敷) without tokonoma, ornamentive attention is given to the front of the butsuma, so it serves as the decorative element in the zashiki. Yamamoto family (Yamamoto-ke 山本家) residence, О̄saka Prefecture.
The butsudan of the Pure Land (Jо̄do Shinshū 浄土真宗) sect of Buddhism were especially large; in areas where that sect was followed, the butsudan alcove (butsuma 仏間) was a two-ken (around 3.6m) wide closet-like space, and often constructed to project out from the rear exterior wall of the zashiki. Building the butsuma as a lean-to (geya 下屋) projecting out from the main footprint of the house ensured that there was no upper floor above it, and so it could not be walked over or stepped on from above.
At the rear of the rear zashiki (oku-zashiki 奥座敷), the Buddhist altar (butsudan 仏壇) sits in a Buddhist alcove (butsuma 仏間) of around one tatami mat in area. The butsuma is built as a lean-to structure that projects out from the gable-end wall, to ensure that there is no upper floor above it, so the taboo against treading on the floor above the butsudan cannot be broken. This style of butsuma is common in the Hokuriku region. Former residence of the Emuki family (Emuki-ke 江向家), Toyama Prefecture; now relocated to the Japan Open-Air Folk House Museum (Nihon Minka-en 日本民家園), Kawasaki Prefecture.
Pure Land Buddhism thrived in the Hokuriku region; in this and other such areas, a small room of about three tatami mats (around 5m²) called the bо̄sama zashiki (坊様座敷, ‘priest zashiki’ or kyūsoku no ma (休息の間, ‘space of rest’) might be provided for the butsudan.
From the practice of praying the ‘Pure Land in All Directions’ (四方浄土 shihо̄ jо̄do) prayer before the butsudan, it was ideally oriented to face east, so that people sitting before it faced west, but there are also examples of butsudan that face south. In large houses in the Kinai region, the dark part at the centre of the house, the rear of the dei, is often made into a specialised butsuma.
The image below shows the interior of the solemn butsuma in the Kuromaru 黒丸 family house, an important cultural property, on the Noto peninsula in the Hokuriku region. In such houses, there may be a ‘house Buddha’ that is worshipped; these rooms could also be used as dо̄jо̄ (道場) for adherents to assemble in, in place of a village temple.
The butsudan of the Hokuriku region, where the Shinshū sect of Buddhism is popular, are large, and possess a solemn dignity. These spaces also served as meeting places for adherents. Kuromaru family (Kuromaru-ke 黒丸家) residence, Ishikawa Prefecture.
A butsudan and kami-dana installed in the living room (joi 常居) of an L-plan (magari-ya 曲り屋) minka. Nakayashiki family (Nakayashiki-ke 中屋敷家) residence, Iwate Prefecture.
An archetypal and rarely-seen style of south-facing oshi-ita, located ‘up’ from the yoko-za seating position at the firepit (irori). Conventionally, the yoko-za faces the doma, which contains the entrance to the dwelling, to the east; here the doma is largely walled off and obscured from the living area, so a south-facing yoko-za that overlooks the unpartitioned part of the doma-living boundary, where people step up from the doma into the living area, is the most logical ‘surveillance position’.
Adjacent to the oshi-ita, and to the left of the lantern in the image, is the bedroom entrance with timber panelled sliding door(s). The oshi-ita is decorated with a flower vase and Buddhist picture scroll. Former Kiyomiya family (Kiyomiya-ke 清宮家) residence, Kanagawa Prefecture; now relocated to the Japan Open-Air Folk House Museum (Nihon Minka-en 日本民家園), Kawasaki Prefecture.