Tsuizen Kuyō

In present-day Japan, the word kuyō, an abbreviation of the phrase tsuizen kuyō, refers to any offerings made to a departed person. In this case, it is often translated into English as "memorial service."

"Tsuizen" of tsuizen kuyō means "to later-practice-good deeds" for the peace and prosperity of the departed person by someone related to that person. The practice originated in India where seven such offerings were made over the first 49 days after a person passed away, one in every seven days.

When Buddhism was eventually transmitted to China, the Indian practice of puja merged with the Chinese custom of ancestor worship to form the practice of periodic memorial services (nenkaiki) that we observe nowadays: 100th day ceremony, 1st anniversary, and 3rd anniversary. In Japan, this was extended to the 7th, 13th, 17th, 33rd, 50th anniversaries and every 50th year thereafter.

The 3rd anniversary memorial service takes place two years after death, the 7th after six years after death, etc.

Offerings placed on the temple altar

1. Flowers - the unexpected gesture of plants in which something completely new is brought forth from a series of expansions and contractions of green growth.

2. Fire in a form of incense or a white candle - universal symbols of purification and illumination.

Both flower and light depend upon one another, the right and the left hand.

3. Offering

At memorial services in Japan, it is a custom to give a money offering in a special envelope. Certain expressions are often written on this envelope.

Some common expressions are listed below:

Gobutsuzen: used for a money offering placed on the altar at a Buddhist memorial service.

Osonae: used for an offering of flowers, sweets, or fruit.

Kiku-ichirin: used for a small money offering. Literally means “single chrysanthemum.”

Ofuse: used for a money offering given as a token of gratitude to a priest or temple at the time of a funeral or memorial service.