Zushi: Portable Shrines

A zushi (厨子) is a cabinet with doors that houses a sacred image, a relic or a sutra. Zushi range from temple shrines taller than a person to portable shrines small enough to hold in the palm. When the doors open, the figure inside appears as if in its own hall, framed by gold. They are among the most collected Japanese Buddhist objects, combining sculpture, lacquer and metalwork in one.

Japanese 厨子, zushi
Forms Temple shrines, household shrines, travel and pocket shrines
Materials Lacquered wood, gold leaf, cut gold, metal fittings; also carved sandalwood
Related The household altar, butsudan, which grew from the zushi

History

The oldest zushi in Japan is the Tamamushi Shrine at Hōryūji, of the seventh century, once decorated with the iridescent wings of jewel beetles and painted with Buddhist tales. Temple halls later enshrined their most sacred images in zushi, often as hidden images opened only on special occasions. From the Edo period, small zushi were made in great numbers for homes and for travellers, and the household butsudan developed from them.

Forms and features

  • Doors. Usually a pair, opening outward, sometimes with a second set within. Painted or gilt door panels may show guardians or attendants.
  • Roof. Flat, gabled or curved like a temple roof, sometimes with metal finials.
  • Interior. Gold leaf or gold lacquer, a backboard for the halo, and a stepped base for the pedestal.
  • Travel shrines. Small zushi in lacquer or carved sandalwood, sometimes opening into three panels with a carved triad, carried by monks and pilgrims.

Collecting notes

  • Check that the image belongs to its zushi. Scale, style and the fit of the halo against the back will tell you whether they were made together.
  • Look at hinges, lock plates and finials; original metal fittings with fine engraving add value.
  • An empty zushi of good quality is collectable in its own right, and can house a figure from elsewhere if this is honestly described.
  • Lacquer needs care; see Caring for Lacquerware.

In the collection

Browse zushi and portable shrines, and the altars and religious objects collection. Our collector concierge can search Japan for a particular shrine.

See also

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