Buddhist mortuary tablet; spirit tablet
A wooden tablet inscribed with the posthumous name of a deceased person, placed on the family Buddhist altar (仏壇) and used in memorial rites.
During Obon, we chant sutras in front of the mortuary tablet.
祖母の位牌は仏壇の中央に置いてある。
My grandmother's spirit tablet is placed in the center of the family altar.
mortuary chapel; hall for memorial tablets
site of a Buddhist mortuary tablet
ancestral tablet; memorial tablet for ancestors
Standard kanji spelling for the Buddhist mortuary tablet.
From Middle Chinese 位牌 (MC *hwijH beaj), literally 'rank tablet'. The term was adopted into Japanese Buddhist practice to refer to memorial tablets bearing posthumous names.