My father’s Buddhist memorial tablet

 Most Japanese have their funeral in the Buddhist way. After the funeral we make a Buddhist memorial tablet which is inscribed with the deceased person’s name, the posthumous Buddhist name and the date of passing away. The middle tablet in the photo is a traditional wooden type. This is for my grandparents.

 Two years ago, my father passed away. I am not sure if I am a Buddhist or not, but I made a memorial tablet for my father from tempered glass, the right tablet in the photo. This is not a common traditional style.

 One day a priest from my town came and chanted a sutra for my father. He complained about this tablet, saying:

“Fifty years from now, you need to bring the tablet to a temple. This kind of tablet will cause a problem. A wooden tablet can be burnt while chanting a sutra in the temple but this type cannot be burnt. We have to put the tablet into the garbage bin.”

 I couldn’t consider that point, but the priest also complained like this:

“These days, it is difficult to make a bonfire in my temple. The neighbors complain about the fire and smoke.”

 Fifty years from now, what kind of fate awaits the glass tablet. Anyway neither the priest nor I have any power to do something to the tablet in the future.

 By the way, my family has another transparent memorial tablet, on the left of the photo. It was made in 1924. Maybe my grandfather made it for my great grandparents. My grandfather was a teacher of Western history. He loved Western culture. During WWⅡ, he taught his students like this:

“You assume Japan will win this war, but I assert Japan will lose.”

After that he was arrested and scolded by the police. He passed away a few months before the end of the war so I never met him.

 At least he left me this transparent tablet. I showed the tablet to the priest. He couldn’t complain about this almost one hundred year-old tablet. He said:

“If it is your family tradition, it is OK.”