Amitamaya (御霊屋; literallymitama "soul [of the dead]" +ya "house"; also called,otamaya,tamaya, orsoreisha 祖霊社, or "Reibyo" 霊廟)^[1] is analtar used inShinto-styleancestor worship, dedicated in the memory of deceased forebears. It generally has a mirror symbolizing the spirits of the deceased or a tablet bearing their names and is used not only to enshrine blood relatives, but also to honor respected non-family members.^[2]

SinceBuddhist funeral rites dominate inJapanese religious practice,mitamaya are found less often in Japanese houses than their Buddhist counterpart, thebutsudan. Their value are also below that of the more highly respectedkamidana.^[3]

Themitamaya is placed in an inner chamber, on a shelf, themitama-san-no-tana, attached to the wall about six feet high. It is placed lower than thekamidana.^[2]

Rites are performed for themitamaya every tenth day up to the fiftieth, and thereafter on the one-hundredth day and one-year anniversary. The one-year ritual is followed by another which marks the spirit's joining of the ancestors at the family shrine.^[4]

In ancient times, people held domestic rites calledKinen-sai in the February or April andNiinamesai in November. During these rites, people worshiped their ancestors, the god of food, and the hearth deity. They believed the spirits of their ancestors (Oyagami) came to them through the rice.^[1]

During theHeian period cults ofGoryō developed and people changed to honoring the dead in July for Urabon-e, and in January.^[1]

During the medieval period, people started to enshrine the spirits of dead individuals, like RetiredEmperor Gotoba (1180–1239) whose memory was kept throughmemorial tablets. In the early modern period, there was a rise in "Shinto funerals" (shinsōsai) where people were treated like kami. The Yoshida clan gave spirit ranks like Myōjin-gō, Reisha-gō, and Reijin-gō to the dead, who were sometimes worshipped at shrines.^[1]

The spread ofKokugaku led to an increased interest in Miyamaya, and more people enshrined their ancestors in their homes.^[1]

The first modernmitamaya was built in 1599 in theToyokuni Shrine inKyoto forToyotomi Hideyoshi. Screen paintings and its ruins suggest that it was modeled after theKitano Tenman-gū. It was later destroyed by theTokugawa.^[5]

Later themitamaya was generally established for Japanese nobles, military heroes, and other people with high reputation. This practice spread in theEdo period. During theKokugaku movement it became more common to erectmitamaya in ordinary homes.^[6] It formed a central part of the Shinto funeral rituals (神葬祭, shinsōsai).^[4]

• Kinensai explanation

• Japanese architectural features
• Shinto religious objects
• Veneration of the dead

• CS1 Japanese-language sources (ja)
• Articles with short description
• Short description is different from Wikidata
• Articles containing Japanese-language text