Antique Wooden Kamidana Household Shrine, 1910s

Details

Description

Characterful Shinto household altar, kamidana, from Japan, late Meiji period.

Dimensions: height 43 cm, width 58 cm, depth 25 cm.

… Read more Characterful Shinto household altar, kamidana, from Japan, late Meiji period.

Dimensions: height 43 cm, width 58 cm, depth 25 cm.

A simple wooden niche with three compartments behind small doors. In the central section there is a flat wooden box containing the original paper amulets, just as they were once obtained in shrines and temples. On the large cover it reads 金毘羅御守, “Konpira protective amulet”. On the long strips you can read, among others, 三峯神社火防御守護 and 三峯神諸除御守護, amulets that offer protection against fire and other calamities. The form as a household altar/kamidana with three niches and the paper slips with shrine names and protective texts indicate Shinto ofuda/omamori: talismans you would receive at a shrine to keep at home.

Konpira (金毘羅) and Mitsumine Jinja (三峯神社), which appear on the papers, are both Shinto sanctuaries. This was therefore a household altar used to honour the kami and ask for protection.

The wood has a dark, timeworn patina with warm reddish-brown accents. The altar is beautifully aged, with traces of use, light discolouration and small irregularities. Part of one of the doors is missing, as clearly shown in the photos; this very imperfection gives the piece its strong wabi-sabi character.

In a contemporary interior this kamidana works beautifully as a sculptural eye-catcher. The open niches are ideal as a stage for an ikebana arrangement, bonsai, a single flower in a vase, ceramics or small traditional deity figures.

Even purely as an architectural object on a sideboard, side table or in a wall niche, this household altar instantly brings a subdued Japanese atmosphere into the room. The original paper amulets are included as a special historical detail. See less