Zulu-kun
Butsudan? So the Ayase-father is really dead?

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PrincessMiura

NO! He's alive!

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anonymous

"Butsudan" is a shrine that originated in India. "Butsu" means "buddha" and "dan" means "house". India would build skyscraping alters in honor of buddha, but when buddhism went to China and Korea, they built statues that they then placed on pedestals and statues.

But, storms would blow the fragile statues off, so the chinese and koreans built walls and doors (similar to a closet) around it.

The Japanese didn't welcome Buddhism until after the many years of Shintoism. The Japanese elaborately redesigned it to be a wooden cabinet. It encloses and protects a religious icon such as a scroll, statue, or pictures of the Buddha. It might also contain candlesticks, incense burners, bells, etc. Offerings such as fruit, rice, and flowers would be placed.

For a time, people began having their own butsudan in their home where they could pay respects to Buddha and the deceased. It would be passed down family lines. But, today, many of those family butsudan have been thrown away or discarded. But, yet, it is still a part of focal japan and international buddhist practice.

(from a wikipedia article on butsudans summarized in my own words---sorry, it's so long. The article was so darn interesting...)

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anonymous
i dont like the mother >:(

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m8
i think you meant buddhist altar, not alter. but sounds the same.

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anonymous
^ ^ ^ tl;dr

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