Altar - Saidan (English spelling) altar English

Japanese: 祭壇 - さいだん（英語表記）altar 英語

An altar is a platform where sacrifices and offerings are made to divine beings or the dead, and where worship is performed and where humans have some kind of interaction with them. The form of an altar varies widely depending on the religion, era, and ritual.

[Yoshiaki Ikuno]

Primitive religion

When humans sensed supernatural powers in various aspects of the natural environment, altars were set up at random in places where divine beings were manifest, but eventually they took on a permanent form and were regarded as sacred. Many of these were built on platforms made of specific boulders, stone piles, earthen mounds, or flat stones, and ritual implements were generally placed on them. If necessary, the altars were enlarged by purifying the four sides. The construction of temples occurred in the process of making altars where divine spirits descended solemn, and gradually altars with complex structures and elaborate decorations, using selected materials such as wood, marble, and metal, began to appear. In addition, altars were made larger in order to carry sacrifices. A typical example can be seen in the Semitic religions.

[Yoshiaki Ikuno]

Semitic Religion

Originally, an altar was a large platform with a groove around it for slaughtering a sacrificial sheep and pouring its blood. Although altars for fire and incense were added later, the Hebrew word Mizbe'a has two meanings: a platform for sacrificing animals and a platform for burning the sacrifices and sending incense. The act of burning the sacrifices and offering them to God (burnt offering) was considered the highest act of pleasing God, and also the act of elevating the worshiper's spirit and creating the highest relationship with God.

[Yoshiaki Ikuno]

Judaism

The altar holds great importance as a place where a covenant is made with God. Before Moses ascended Mount Sinai to receive from the Lord the stone tablets containing the Law, he built an altar at the foot of the mountain and offered sacrifices there as a sign of the covenant. Both the altars for burnt offerings and incense that the ancient Jews set up in the tabernacle were made of acacia wood, but during the time of King Solomon, when the temple developed, the altar for burnt offerings was covered in bronze, likely influenced by the Phoenicians, and the altar for incense was made of gold, according to the Old Testament, which suggests that the altar came to occupy a central position in the temple.

[Yoshiaki Ikuno]

Christianity

The altar, which is defined as "the altar, the table of the Lord" (Catholic) and called the Holy Table or the Eucharist Table (Protestant), has existed since the early days of Christianity as a model of the table of the Last Supper, and worship has been centered on a table modeled after the Last Supper, but the essence of the altar has a strong symbolic significance. Not only the Catholic altar, which is a platform on which offerings of wine and bread, representing the blood and flesh of Jesus, are offered, on which the present Christ is seen and the sacrifice of the cross is repeated, but also the Protestant Eucharist table, which has a prominent medial element for believers to commemorate the death of Jesus, ruminate on it, and understand its meaning, is thought to be permeated in a refined form with the idea of sacrifice based on the biblical tradition that interprets the Last Supper and Jesus' death on the cross as offerings of propitiation to God. The basic form of the altar was a rectangular stone slab supported by four legs, and as churches developed, altars of superior craftsmanship were created. In the 4th to 6th centuries, altars with a superstructure of four columns supported a canopy with reliefs (ciborium type) appeared, and in the High Middle Ages, glittering altars with decorative altar legs and movable fabric canopies (baldachino type) appeared. There are also large polyptych altars in Northern Europe. Catholic altars are placed in the eastern sanctuary of the church, and mass is celebrated with the priest and congregation facing each other on either side of it. A cloth is laid on the altar, hanging on both sides, and in addition to consecrated bread and wine, a cross, prayers, a Bible, and candlesticks are placed in the center. The form of Protestant altars is not consistent, but in recent years, many churches have placed a holy table at the front and decorated it with crosses, candlesticks, and flowers.

[Yoshiaki Ikuno]

Mayan and Aztec Religion

The ancient Maya altars were used for human sacrifice. The victim, whose body was painted blue, was brought to the temple courtyard, where he was bound at the limbs on the circular altar, his ribs were cut open, his heart was taken out, and the priest offered the fresh blood to the sun god. Human sacrifice to the Aztec god of war, Huitzilopochtli, was also famous.

[Yoshiaki Ikuno]

Religion in China

The altar where the emperor performed the ceremony to worship the Heavenly Emperor as a national event is called the Temple of Heaven, and the ceremony to worship the Heavenly Emperor was held on the winter solstice in the southern suburbs of the capital. The Temple of Heaven is a three-tiered marble altar modeled after the circle of heaven. In present-day Beijing, the facilities where the worship services to the heavens were held include the three-tiered Temple of Heaven (Circular Mound Altar), and the Temple of Heaven in the broad sense and the Temple of Earth for the gods of earth are two square altars.

[Yoshiaki Ikuno]

Hinduism

The important role of altars in Brahmin rituals is based on the śulva-sutra, which explains the location and form of altars, but also includes detailed regulations for the construction of fire altars. Fire altars dedicated to Agni, the god of fire, are particularly complex. Parsis perform fire worship rituals at fire altars.

[Yoshiaki Ikuno]

Shinto

The original altars included Iwasaka, a pure place surrounded by stones or piled up to invite the spirits, and Himorogi, a sacred place surrounded by green brushwood fences with Sakaki (a branch of a sacred tree) erected as Tamagushi (a sacred offering), and Himorogi, a sacred tree with Evergreen trees erected to clearly indicate the place of possession by the spirits. In later times, the altars as the seat of the gods were made more solemn in the shape of a Zushi (a small shrine) or Joyo (a palanquin) in which a divine image was seated, and were placed on a high platform.

[Yoshiaki Ikuno]

Buddhism

An altar in a temple or home to worship a Buddha, ancestor, or a deceased person who has attained enlightenment is called a butsudan, with a Buddha statue or memorial tablet placed at the back and the three accessories (flower vase, candlestick, incense burner) placed at the front. When a memorial service is held, the Buddha statue and memorial tablet are thought to act as a place of refuge for the Buddha or bodhisattva being worshipped, or the spirits of ancestors or the deceased, and the acts of worshiping them and offering them lamps, incense, flowers, food and drink form the core of the religious actions of the person performing the service. Therefore, the butsudan is maintained as a sacred and pure place not only during ceremonies but at all times. A butsudan for the home is called a box butsudan or simply butsudan, and a large butsudan with several floors modeled after Mount Sumeru in a temple is called a shumerudan. In addition to permanent Buddhist altars, there are also temporary ones. These include funeral altars and the spirit shelf during the Bon Festival. In Buddhism, the term "saidan" generally refers to a plain wooden altar in the style of a tiered stage with many decorations lined up, which is set up in front of the coffin during a funeral. The influence of Shintoism is thought to be due to the placement of paper (similar to the word "death") and flowers, which are meant to represent the possession of the spirit of the deceased.

[Yoshiaki Ikuno]

[Reference] | Buddhist altar

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

Japanese:

神的存在や死者に犠牲(いけにえ)や供物(くもつ)を捧(ささ)げて祭祀(さいし)礼拝を営み、それらと人間とがなんらかの交わりをもつ中心的場となる台。宗教、時代、祭祀によって、祭壇の形態は多岐に分かれる。

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原始宗教

人が、接する自然環境のさまざまな局面に、超自然的力を感得したとき、神的存在の顕現する場所に任意に祭壇が設置されたが、やがてそれは常設化した形態をとるとともに聖視された。それには特定の巨岩、石積み、土盛りや、平板石を用いた架台(かだい)が多く、一般にその上に祭具が置かれ、また必要に応じて、四方を浄化して、祭壇の拡大化もみられた。神殿の建立は神霊の降臨する祭壇を荘厳にする過程において発生したが、祭壇そのものも、木材、大理石、金属などの精選された材料を用いて、複雑な構造と入念な装飾をもつものがしだいに現れるようになった。また、犠牲を供具(きょうぐ)するために、祭壇の大型化も行われていった。セム人の宗教にその典型がみられる。

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セム人の宗教

元来、祭壇は犠牲の羊などを屠(ほふ)り、血を注いだりするためのもので、周囲に溝(みぞ)をつけた大型の架台である。火や香の祭壇が付設されたのは後代であるが、ヘブライ語ミズベーアハMizbēaには、動物を供犠(きょうぎ)する台、その供犠物を焼いて香を送る台との両義がある。犠牲を焼いて、それとその芳香を神に献送する営み（燔祭(はんさい)）は、神を喜ばせる最高の営みと考えられ、また一方礼拝(れいはい)者と霊が上昇して神との最高の関係が生み出される営みとも考えられたのである。

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ユダヤ教

祭壇は神と契約を交わす場としての重要性が高い。モーセは、主(しゅ)より律法を記した石板を授かるべくシナイ山に登る前に、麓(ふもと)で祭壇を築き、犠牲を献じて、契約のしるしとした。古代ユダヤ人が幕屋に設置した燔祭用と焚香(ふんこう)用の両祭壇は、いずれもアカシア材でつくられていたが、神殿が発達したソロモン王時代、燔祭用はフェニキア人の影響とみられる青銅で覆った祭壇、焚香用は、『旧約聖書』によれば、金製であったといい、祭壇が神殿で中核的位置を占めていったことがうかがえる。

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キリスト教

その祭壇は、「主の食卓である祭壇」（カトリック）と規定され、また聖卓、聖餐(せいさん)卓（プロテスタント）と称されているように、最後の晩餐の食卓をかたどったものとしてキリスト教初期から存在し、最後の晩餐に倣った食卓を中心に据え、礼拝形式が守られてきたが、祭壇の本質については象徴的意義が強い。イエスの血と肉を表すぶどう酒とパンの供物を献ずる台として、そこに現在するキリストをみ、十字架の犠牲が繰り返されるとするカトリックの祭壇はもとより、信者がイエスの死を記念し、反芻(はんすう)してその意味を知るための媒体的要素が顕著なプロテスタントの聖餐卓にも、その本質には、最後の晩餐とイエスの十字架上の死とを神への宥(なだ)めの供え物と解する聖書の伝承に基づく供犠の観念が、洗練した形で貫いていると考えられる。長方形の石板を4脚で支える卓を祭壇の基本形とし、聖堂の発達とともに、工芸的に優れた祭壇ができた。4～6世紀には浮彫りの天蓋(てんがい)を4円柱で支える上部構造をもつ祭壇（チボリウム型）、中世盛期には祭壇脚部に装飾が施され、可動的な織物の天蓋できらびやかな祭壇（バルダキーノ型）が現れた。北欧には大規模な多翼式祭壇もある。カトリックの祭壇は、聖堂の東方位の内陣部に置かれ、司祭と会衆がそれを挟んで対面しミサを行う。祭壇上に左右に垂れる布地を敷き、聖別されたパンとぶどう酒のほか、中央に十字架、祈祷(きとう)文、聖書、左右に燭台(しょくだい)を置く。プロテスタントの祭壇の様態は一定しないが、近年は正面に聖卓を据え、その上を十字架、燭台、花で飾る教会が多い。

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マヤ・アステカの宗教

古代マヤ人の祭壇は人身御供(ひとみごくう)に用いられた。身体を青く塗った犠牲を神殿の中庭に伴い、円形の祭壇において手足を押さえ、肋骨(ろっこつ)を切り開いて心臓をつかみ出し、神官が鮮血を太陽神に献(ささ)げた。アステカの軍神ウィツィロポチトリへの人身御供も著名である。

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中国の宗教

皇帝が国家的行事として天帝を祭る儀式を行う祭壇は天壇といい、城都の南郊にて冬至日に祭天の儀が勤められた。天壇は天の円を模して三重の大理石造の円壇丘をなす。現在の北京(ペキン)では、三重の天壇（圜丘(えんきゅう)壇）を含む天への祭礼を行った請施設を、広義の天壇と地祇(ちぎ)を祭る地壇は方形二壇である。

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ヒンドゥー教

バラモン祭式において重要な位置を占める祭壇は、『祭壇経』śulva-sutraに基づく。これは、祭壇の場所の認定、祭壇の形式などを説くが、火の祭壇の設置規定に詳しい。火神アグニを祀る火の祭壇はとくに複雑である。パーシー教徒は火の祭壇にて拝火の儀式を行う。

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神道

原初の祭壇には、石で囲んだり、石積みをした神霊を招斎する清浄なる場である磐境(いわさか)や、青柴垣(あおふしがき)で囲んだ中に榊(さかき)を立てて玉串(たまぐし)としたり、常磐木(ときわぎ)を立てて神霊憑依(ひょうい)の場を明確にした神籬(ひもろぎ)がある。後代には、神座としての祭壇は神像の坐(いま)す厨子(ずし)や乗輿(じょうよ)の形に荘厳(しょうごん)化し、かつ高壇上に納められた。

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仏教

寺院や家庭内の仏(ほとけ)または先祖、成仏(じょうぶつ)せる死者を祀る祭壇は仏壇と称し、奥に仏像や位牌(いはい)を安置し、前面に三具足(みつぐそく)（花立て、燭台、香炉）を置く。法要を行うとき、奉請(ぶじょう)する仏や菩薩(ぼさつ)、または先祖や死者の霊にとって、仏像や位牌が依(よ)り所の役割を果たすと考えられ、それに礼拝(らいはい)し、灯明(とうみょう)、香華(こうげ)、飲食を供える行為は、祭事者の宗教行動の中核をなす。したがって、仏壇は、儀礼中はもとより恒常的に神聖・清浄なる場として保持される。家庭用の仏壇は箱仏壇、単に仏壇とも称し、寺院内の須弥山(しゅみせん)を模す数層の大型仏壇は、須弥壇と称する。仏教の祭壇には、常設的な仏壇のほかに仮設的なものがある。葬儀用の祭壇や盆の精霊(しょうりょう)棚がこれにあたる。通例、仏教でサイダンといえば、葬儀に際し柩(ひつぎ)前に設置する多くの飾り物を並べた雛段(ひなだん)型の白木の祭段をさす。死者の憑霊を想定して紙(し)（死と同音）花(か)を立てるなどから、神道系統の影響が考えられる。

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[参照項目] | 仏壇

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