This is Shima, from Oubaitori.com. Today is August 15, 2026 — Japan’s Memorial Day for the End of the Second World War. The cicadas are loud. Summer is at its peak. We are open, as always. Come with me — a short tour of our specialist store in Koga, Ibaraki.
Two chairs at the entrance today. The sign — I still think it looks good, every time I see it. Inside, my books line the shelf.
A Visit From Tochigi — Six People, and Love at First Sight
Yesterday morning, a phone call. Someone from Tochigi Prefecture, wanting to come see altars. Later in the afternoon, one car arrived with three people. Not long after, a second car with three more. They had arranged to meet in our parking lot. A family of six, coming together.
The first to arrive put on the guest slippers, stepped inside, and — right at that moment — said: “Ah, this altar would do just fine.” Her eyes had gone straight to a pre-owned Butsudan we had only just brought in.
“Excuse me — how much is this one?” — “Actually, it’s pre-owned.” — “Really? It doesn’t look pre-owned at all.” From there, they took their time.
But — the one who actually purchased was not the person who spoke first. It was the one who came in the second car. He and his mother live together, and his mother had been saying, for a long time, that she wanted to change out their large altar. This Obon, when the siblings gathered, the conversation finally moved forward.
“But it’s a big altar. We need somewhere that will actually take the old one away.” They had looked around in their own prefecture — and found that the local Butsudan shops were gone. This is happening across Japan. Specialist altar shops are disappearing, one after another.
We told him: yes, we handle removal and proper disposal, in-house. He decided, right there. Love at first sight. They looked at every other altar too — but in the end, it was that pre-owned one.
The Mission of a Pre-Owned Altar — and the Kokū Zushi
“Oubaitori” — cherry, plum, peach, damson. Each blooms in its own way. Our store is like that: many kinds of altars, side by side. A pre-owned altar, for me, carries a next mission. To go to a new home, and to take up its next mission there. One at a time, with Kimura, we restore them.
I also went through a period when Daimoku would not come out of me. From inside that difficulty, I began to reconsider — to re-examine — the Soka Gakkai altar itself. I thought about it. I designed. I researched. What came out of all that is this: the Kokū Zushi. There are other pieces in the store born from the same searching.
During yesterday’s visit, one guest noticed a large pre-owned altar (Model 1402) and said, “This one is selling too, isn’t it?” Then she saw a custom altar we had finished in white pearl. “So you make something like this too?” That one was for a customer who wanted the right-hand altar finished in white. “There really are customers who care that deeply, aren’t there?” — the conversation went that way.
We currently have four Kokū Zushi on display. Our workshop, however, tells us that ebony veneer has become impossible to source. In the second half of the year, we will keep working on the next chapter — with the aim of securing new veneer supplies.
Today’s Hours — and a Workshop Across the Void
A pre-owned altar (Model 1380), purchased earlier, is leaving the store today. A shipping partner is coming to wrap it and deliver it, safely.
We are open today, as usual: 1:00 PM to 5:00 PM. If you have the time, please come by.
Today is also the fourth session of our Oubaitori Butsudan Workshop, connecting Sapporo, Saitama, and here in Koga over Zoom. What an age we live in. We cannot cross time — but across the void of space, we can meet. That is the era we are in.
August 15. Praying for peace across the world, I will keep this mission going today, rooted in Daimoku. May your day be a good one.
That was our store tour for August 15, 2026. If you’re ever in Japan, please come and visit.
🙏 From Yukihiro Shima — Oubaitori.com
Bloom your own way, at your very best.
Oubaitori.com — Japan’s specialist in Soka Gakkai Buddhist altars
44 years, one specialty (est. 1982). 17,113 Soka Gakkai Buddhist altars delivered to date. Japan’s No.1 in restoring Soka Gakkai altars, 1,500+ restored. Registered trademark: “Butsudan Revolution — Kokū Zushi.” We ship worldwide.
📱 Talk directly with us (LINE)
Comments