Brand new small size wooden Shinto religious collection box or saisenbako as they are called in Japanese. Boxes such as these are found at the entrance of nearly every Buddhist temple or Shinto shrine in Japan. Worshipers commonly approach the altar and throw a few coins into the saisenbako before offering a prayer. The same type of box is used in Japan for both temples and shrines, though worshipers at a shrine may ring a bell before depositing their coins and praying.

 

Brand new small size mirror (kagami) for use with Japanese Shinto kamidana altar. Mirrors such as this are commonly placed at the entrance to the shrine and are an important part of the Shinto religious setting. Mirrors are significant in Shinto as the reflective surfaces are thought capable of revealing without prejudice the true aspect of any person or object placed before it. The mirror is also one of the three sacred objects of the Shinto tradition (the other two items are the sword and the jewel). A mirror did also play an important role in early Shinto mythology. Legend holds that the sun goddess Amaterasu did plunge the world into darkness after taking refuge in a cave while her storm god brother ravaged the earth. The other gods were unable to coax her from her hiding place until a mirror was hung from a tree within sight of Amaterasu. The goddess was so intrigued by the reflected image of her beautiful face that she came out of the cave bringing dawn and returning light to the world.

 

Brand new Japanese Shinto altar offering tray (sanbou). Wooden trays such as this are used in Japan to present offerings upon a deity altar within a Japanese Shinto shrine or kamidana home altar. The tray is made of high quality Hinoki Japanese cypress. The Shinto sanbou offered with this listing features a tray which is four (yon) sun units wide, where a single sun unit equals approximately 1.2 inches. The sun unit is part of an ancient Oriental system of measure called kanejaku in Japan.

 

Brand new small size Japanese Shinto altar offering tray (sanbou). Wooden trays such as this are used in Japan to present offerings upon a deity altar within a Japanese Shinto shrine or kamidana home altar. The tray is made of high quality Hinoki Japanese cypress.

 

Brand new set of two (2) white glass Shinto religious altar vases called Sakaki tate in Japanese plus two (2) artificial Sakaki branches with plastic evergreen leaves. These special vases are designed specifically for holding small branches displaying leaves from the Asian Sakaki tree (Cleyera japonica) which are placed on either side of a kamidana shrine. The foliage from this tree is important within the Shinto tradition as a religious altar display item, as the dark green Sakaki leaves are appreciated by the Japanese for their evergreen appearance and hearty nature which are thought to impart a sense of abundance and longevity to the Shinto religious setting. The respect the Japanese hold for this tree is evident in its name as the word sakaki translates as 'god tree'. As Sakaki trees are difficult to find outside Japan this vase set therefore includes two small artificial Sakaki branches with plastic leaves very closely resembling the real thing. These artificial Sakaki are appropriately sized for the vases on offer though the stems of the plastic Sakaki may be bent or broken off for further adjustments to length.

 

Brand new, small size solid wood Japanese Shinto altar offering table for use with kamidana zushi. This style altar table is called hassokudai in Japanese which means eight leg table and indeed the table has eight pedestals making up the two leg sections. This type of altar table is normally used to present offerings of water, rice and salt and is placed just in front of the kamidana altar.

 

Brand new, small size Shinto religious offering tray. Trays such as this are called takatsuki in Japanese and are used to hold food items placed as offerings before the altars of Shinto shrines and smaller home altars called kamidana. These trays are made of wood or ceramic and offerings may include foods such as rice, fruits and vegetables as well as liquids such as water or sake rice wine. Salt is also sometimes offered as an object of symbolic purification.

 

Brand new white glass Japanese Shinto religious altar offering vessel. This particular style of vessel is called mizuire and is used to hold fresh water. This type of container is a common feature of kamidana (zushi) household shrines which are the symbolic homes of deities traditionally revered by the Japanese. Altar pieces such as this may be made of wood, metal or ceramic and will occupy the foremost position in front of the kamidana (please see the last photo below which shows a similar ceramic set in use with our office kamidana). Tradition-minded Japanese may change the water in the mizuire as often as twice a day at which point they also offer prayers to the resident god. Please read below to learn more about Japan's native religion, Shinto.

 

Brand new set of high quality porcelain altar pieces for use with Japanese Shinto kamidana. This set includes a single lidded mizuire for holding fresh water as well as a pair of flat dishes for salt and rice and two lidded flasks (tokkuri) for sake rice wine. This set also includes a pair of altar vases (sakaki tate) for holding stems of the sacred sakaki tree. The set ships in a custom fitted storage box and is suitable for use with small to medium size kamidana.

 

Brand new set of two (2) white glass Shinto religious altar vases called sakaki tate in Japanese. These special vases are designed specifically for holding small branches displaying leaves from the Asian Sakaki tree (Cleyera japonica) which are placed on either side of a kamidana shrine. The foliage from this tree is important within the Shinto tradition as a religious altar display item, as the dark green Sakaki leaves are appreciated by the Japanese for their evergreen appearance and hearty nature which are thought to impart a sense of abundance and longevity to the Shinto religious setting. The respect the Japanese hold for this tree is evident in its name as the word Sakaki translates as 'god tree'.