chanting sutras before a Bon shelf
A Buddhist practice during the Bon Festival where a monk chants sutras in front of a shōryōdana (精霊棚), a shelf for ancestral spirits.
See also: 精霊棚 (しょうりょうだな)
During the Bon season, temple monks visit homes to chant sutras before the ancestral shelf.
Compound of 棚 (tana, 'shelf') and 経 (kyō, 'sutra'), referring to the practice of chanting sutras before the Bon shelf.