noun
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.
お盆には位牌の前でお経をあげる。
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.
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.