Day 06 - 02/01/1998: Household Altar: This is a photo of the room where Ritsuko's brother and his family were staying at Ritsuko's parents house, because this photo was taken in the day time all of the futons had been packed up and placed in the cupboard.
This room contains what is know in Japanese as "butsudan" (Buddhist altar). Ritsuko's mother is a Buddhist. Daily she goes to the altar, rings the bell, places fresh incense in the incense holder, and offers prayers.1
In Japan there are two major religions Shinto and Buddhism, a lot of people in Japan actually follow both! In a Shinto household people will often have a "kamidana" (Shinto altar). Shinto altars look very different to Buddhist altars.2
