Kamidana

Kamidana (Jap.神 棚) is the Japanese term for a Shinto household shrine. Kamidana are small wooden miniature replicas of cry buildings which are attached to the wall or placed in a raised niche. In Kamidana the ancestors of the family or local deities are worshiped.

At the front of a Kamidana a mirror is placed on the right and left are vases with branches of locking bush ( Sakaki ) and votives, and before Kamidana a Shimenawa ( straw rope ) is attached. The offerings to the Kami, rice, salt, water, sake or fruits are twice a month, offered on the first and 15th, before the shrine. The water is renewed every morning. The rite of worship of Kamidana just like with the Shinto shrine two bows, two claps and a bow (二 礼 二 拍 一 礼, Nirei nihaku ichirei ).

In the 1920s, spread to Japan, the custom also set up in the dōjō of Budō clubs Kamidana. The term is often confused with " Kamiza " (上座), the place of honor in the room.

Buddhist altars are also common in Japan, these are called Butsudan. The Tokonoma, a wall niche for decorations is also Buddhist origin. Sometimes is located, usually below the Kamidana, a Tamaya.