Many people seem to be struggling with household issues where their Buddhist altar no longer fits their needs due to changing lifestyles. While the Buddhist altar is a uniquely Japanese culture, it serves as a smaller version of a temple's main hall. It originally spread to ordinary households during the Edo period, when the Danka system was implemented in response to the ban on Christianity. Even earlier, there were different customs. During the Heian period, aristocrats were known to have "jibutsu-do" (household altars), indicating that a space for worship was originally separate from the home. Even today, there is no rule requiring a Buddhist altar to be kept in the home.

The Buddhist altar is often referred to as the "home temple," and when closing down a Buddhist altar, it is common to hold a "closing ceremony" with a monk chanting sutras, just like closing a grave. Even after the closing ceremony, memorial tablets (ihai) remain the dwelling place of the ancestors' spirits, so the most respectful way to handle them is to respectfully dispose of them through a permanent memorial service or cremation. If this doesn't bother you, you can simply dispose of the tablet as combustible waste. Since the Buddhist altar is also a part of the home where the memorial tablets are enshrined, it would be ideal if the altar or Buddhist accessory store could take it and burn it after the closing ceremony, but recently, there have been an increasing number of cases where this is refused. In the past, Buddhist altars were burned within the grounds of the family temple, but in modern times, an increasing number of municipalities have banned this practice due to fire safety concerns, and family temples are increasingly refusing to take them.

"Closing the grave" and "closing the Buddhist altar" do not necessarily have to be done together, so even if you have performed a perpetual memorial service, you can still choose to leave the Buddhist altar in the home. The timing for "closing the Buddhist altar" is often when closing the grave, demolishing the house, or moving, but there is no particular time, so you can do it whenever you like.

When closing the Buddhist altar, the memorial tablets, Buddhist altar, and Buddhist accessories are first targeted. After the closing ceremony, the memorial tablets, Buddhist altar, and Buddhist accessories become interior furnishings. While all of these items can be disposed of as bulky waste by your local government, in reality, it seems that many people are reluctant to treat them as combustible waste.

★ At SANKOTSUYAMA, we offer a service to collect and cremate memorial tablets, Buddhist altars, and Buddhist altar implements. Yamato Transport cannot send Buddhist statues, Buddhist altars, memorial tablets, or stupas via courier, so this service is limited to Tokyo, Kanagawa Prefecture, and surrounding areas. However, it appears that antique Buddhist statues and Buddhist altar implements are shipped via courier service as art objects on online auctions. This service offers a service in which specialized art staff carefully package and safely transport the items according to their characteristics. However, it seems that one-of-a-kind, irreplaceable, or expensive items may not be accepted via courier service.

★ At SANKOTSUYAMA, we propose placing the Buddhist altar outside the home, while retaining its functionality. Our "Ihai Storage" service accepts and manages memorial tablets that have not undergone a memorial service. We offer this service to modern people, who tend to neglect their Buddhist altars in the midst of their busy daily lives. Sankotsuyama's "Ihai Storage" plan accepts memorial tablets for perpetual memorial service and handles their daily management. You can also use it as a space for prayer. There's no need for soul removal or memorial service. You can return home temporarily whenever necessary, so there's no need for inconvenience. We can store your memorial tablet for you by mail or by picking it up. Please take advantage of Sankotsuyama's "Ihai Storage." Memorial tablets can be sent via the post office's "Yu-Pack" service. Other courier services, such as Yamato Transport and Sagawa Express, do not accept memorial tablets, Buddhist altars, or ashes.

"Forest scattering" is a natural burial where the remains are returned to nature. It is similar to "tree burial," which involves burial at the base of a tree, but is slightly different. While "tree burial" involves digging a hole in the ground and burying the remains in an urn, "forest scattering" involves grinding the remains into a fine powder beforehand and scattering them in the mountains. The remains are not buried underground, but rather scattered over the ground like the "Grandpa Who Made Flowers Bloom." In the wild, grass grows and bare ground is rarely found, so the white remains are not left in one place. The powdered remains gradually return to the soil as they are exposed to wind and rain. Furthermore, while in a typical "tree burial," the remains are exhumed and interred after a certain number of years, in the case of "forest scattering," the remains cannot be manually retrieved, so they rest there forever. Japan has a long tradition of "mountain worship," which views the entire mountain as a sacred object. ・・・

"Ocean scattering" is a funeral method that has become popular not only in Japan but around the world. Scattering ashes into rivers is not permitted in Japan, so this method seems to be gaining popularity. It is particularly popular as a way to say goodbye to a deceased loved one, and services such as chartering a motorboat or cruiser to scatter ashes offshore are popular. However, the drawbacks of this method include the fact that the ocean is easily affected by weather, which can suddenly result in a cancellation on the scheduled date, and the relatively high cost of chartering a boat. Our company, SANKOTSUYAMA, offers an "Ocean Scattering Plan," which uses our small boat, eliminating the additional cost of chartering a boat. All costs are included in the price. Furthermore, "ocean scattering" does not necessarily require the services of a specialized scattering company. Individuals are not prohibited from scattering powdered ashes into the sea. However, scattering ashes is prohibited near fishing ・・・