On July 26, 2026, the workshop called me.
“Ebony veneer is no longer coming in. We cannot build the ebony Kokū Zushi anymore.”
I re-filmed this video because of that one sentence. Here is the Kokū Zushi 003 in ebony, in front of me, exactly as it is.
▲ The narration is in Japanese. Watch the doors, the grain, and the light.
The company that sliced ebony has closed
Ebony is called the diamond of woods. It is that hard. To cut it into veneer as thin as paper, you need a particular machine and particular hands.
The company in Japan that did this work has gone out of business. Unless someone else takes it up, ebony veneer will not reach this trade again. The problem is not the price. There is no one left to cut it. The Kokū Zushi was already the only one of its kind in the world. With ebony now added to that, I do not think it is an overstatement to say this altar stands alone.
The colours differ, and that is the proof
The centre section, where you face the Gohonzon, is solid ebony. Look at the grain in the video. It runs from the side, around the back, across the front — one continuous line. That is how you know it is solid.
The doors are veneer, laid over a core. So the centre and the doors do not match exactly in colour. That is not a flaw. That is natural material. I could have made it uniform. I chose not to.
The Kokū Zushi is the space inside
People often misunderstand the name. It is not the exterior. It is the space inside, once the doors are open.
The Daishonin expressed the Ceremony in the Air as a single Gohonzon, the Mandala of the Ten Worlds. So what is a Soka Gakkai altar for? In the end, it is for chanting daimoku. Nothing else.
This 003 is built so the Gohonzon appears to float in the air. The moment you sit down, you see where you are: taking part in the Ceremony in the Air. I wanted that to be plain, without anyone explaining it. I studied the Gosho, the Ongi Kuden, and President Ikeda’s guidance, designed it myself, and had traditional craftsmen build each one by hand. It is a registered trademark: Butsudan Revolution — Kokū Zushi.
Your eyes in the morning, your eyes at night
The lighting is on a remote. Turn the dial right for cool white, left for warm, and the colour of the mounting changes with it. Brightness has no fixed steps. Switch off where it feels right, and the setting is remembered. Tomorrow starts there.
The acrylic case in front of the Gohonzon is not for dust. It is so nothing strikes the Gohonzon when the doors swing open. You can do gongyo with it in place, or take it off.
I was bad at chanting
I will say it plainly. Daimoku did not come easily to me. So I set out to build the altar that would make me want to chant. That is where all of this began.
Ten million daimoku over three years. One million more in the three months after. I am now heading toward one hundred million, chanting more than ten thousand a day. Each Kokū Zushi comes with a Life Transformation sheet — what the features of the Gohonzon mean, so that you chant knowing what is in front of you. To me that matters more than any material.
In stock — Butsudan Revolution: Kokū Zushi (registered trademark)
Kokū Zushi 003 — Ebony
Solid ebony centre / two-part drawer / acrylic case / stepless dimming LED with memory
▶ See the Kokū Zushi 003 in ebony
With veneer supply stopped, we cannot take new orders in ebony.
Four pieces are in stock now. We ship worldwide, and the showroom in Koga, Ibaraki is open if you can come. If the video leaves anything unclear, please ask.
The Kokū Zushi exists for one thing: so that daimoku rises. So that you shine, in your own way, at your very best. ▶ See the price and details
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