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Buddhist memorial tablet
A wooden tablet inscribed with the posthumous Buddhist name of a deceased person, enshrined in a Buddhist altar.
仏壇に位牌を安置している。
We enshrine the memorial tablet in the Buddhist altar.
祖父の位牌に手を合わせた。
I put my hands together in prayer before my grandfather's memorial tablet.
位牌には戒名が刻まれている。
The memorial tablet is inscribed with the posthumous Buddhist name.
CULTURAL CONTEXT: 位牌 is central to Japanese Buddhist ancestor veneration. It serves as the spiritual seat of the deceased and is treated with great respect.
WHAT'S INSCRIBED:
- 戒名/法名: posthumous Buddhist name
- Date of death
- Sometimes the secular name
TYPES:
- 白木の位牌: plain wooden tablet (temporary, for 49 days)
- 本位牌: permanent lacquered tablet
- 繰り出し位牌: tablet holding multiple names
PLACEMENT:
- Enshrined in the 仏壇 (Buddhist home altar)
- Central position of honor
- Daily offerings of incense, water, and food
RELATED CEREMONIES:
- 開眼供養: consecration ceremony
- Annual memorial services (法事)
- お盆: festival for honoring ancestors