Kamidana - The Home Shrine
The household altar where families honor the kami and ancestors daily.
The kamidana is the miniature shrine found in many Japanese homes, containing talismans from shrines visited and tablets representing ancestors. Families offer prayers, food, and fresh water each morning, maintaining spiritual connection with the divine within daily life.
At the kamidana, the kami and ancestors receive our daily gratitude and prayers.
The kamidana brings Shinto practice into the intimate sphere of home life.
Folk traditions
Written about in
- What Shinto says about family and ancestors
The kamidana is a small shrine kept in the home, often holding talismans from shrines the family has visited. Fresh water and a short prayer in the morning is the usual practice.