Originally Posted by
LapLap
That's interesting, I'd never heard of the bones of a relative being kept permanently in the family butsudan. My impression is that it was the ihai (an engraved tablet, a bit more elaborate than the rudimentary stone ds7469ls has asked about) that carried the essence of the people in those butsudan I've paid my respects at. Then again, these shrines are maintained in addition to family graves.
Since graves are becoming increasingly expensive and difficult to get - or get to - for city dwellers, perhaps there are lots of families keeping the remains rather than transferring them.
Well, I could have been mistaken about the bones, but I believe my wife told me they have some in each of three locations, including the butsudan at home. The rest are in a temple in Kyoto and in Nagasaki (where he was from originally). I wouldn't really say that my in-laws follow all traditions exactly to the letter, however. They tend to interpret them in whichever way suits them best. I consider that a good thing. Heck, if they weren't that way, they'd never had let my wife marry me.
