noun
ancestral hall; mortuary tablet hall
A hall within a Buddhist temple grounds where mortuary tablets of lay parishioners are kept and memorial services are held.
この寺の祠堂には、檀家の位牌が安置されている。
In this temple's ancestral hall, the mortuary tablets of the parishioners are enshrined.
noun
A small shrine or sanctuary, often within a temple or sacred precinct, dedicated to a specific deity or spirit.
境内の片隅に、小さな祠堂がひっそりと建っている。
A small shrine stands quietly in a corner of the temple grounds.
From Chinese 祠堂 (cítáng), meaning ancestral hall or shrine. The Japanese reading しどう is the on'yomi of the characters.