Buddhist Priest's Home Visiting : TSUKIMAIRI

My raised family's Buddhist priest visited my house yesterday. 
We say it for Tsukimairi in Japanese.

As I'm not religious basically but want to follow the way my parents used to do when they were alive, I ask the priest to visit and chant Buddhist sutra once a month.

We, Japanese know about monthly visits, but most of us don't keep doing it with times. I don't know it's a good custom and gives us something happy, but think it is good to remind me of my parents and pray for their piece at the visiting, even though I'm busy. 

So I had to tell my kids to bring all their bags, ones related to school studies and other belongings to their own rooms at night before yesterday. And then, I was busy for cleaning the house to welcome him. 
It's good for us to be able to clean our house.

He visited me on the appointed time and chant Buddhist sutra for my ancestors for about 20 mins. 
I can't understand what he says, because it's special language different from normal Japanese. But I remember only 1 sutra I can chant with him together, at the start of all sutra. 

After finishing, I give him something to drink, sometimes with a sweet and the money with an envelope for visiting. 

They don't mind the amount of the money, it's up to us. I always put 5000yen in an envelope.

These are some of Japanese household Buddhist altars in a house.

The outside of my altar is in my raised house and the inside of Buddhist ancestral tablets are in my house now owing to some reasons. So they live in temporary altar of my house.

My Ancestral tablets are before the photo of my father.

I give rice and water, light some incense sticks and pray for them while ringing the bell almost every day.

Current incense smells soap, and it smells very nice and relaxed.

I'm looking at new altars for my ancestors in the future, because it is an old type and very big for our house. This is another altar like mine.

There used to be the space for a family altar in old houses, but it has been changed recently.

It become more fashionable and smaller size. Take a look at following photos.

Since my 96 year grandmother is still alive, I don't want to buy a new one now, just looking at them.

Though I am ready for accepting her last time and think she has really tried the best all time, but I want to be beside her more, as much as possible because she is still trying to live. 

昨日は、お寺さんの月参りの日でした。

うちの仏壇は、訳があってまだ実家に置いてあって、中の位牌だけ我が家に持って来ました。

そう父が亡くなってから、もう少しで２年が経とうとしていますが、ずっと仮住まいなんです。

でも出来る限り、お寺さんに日程を調整して貰いながら、毎月来て貰っています。

余り信仰心は無いけれど、両親がやってきたことを絶やさず出来るうちは続けようかなって思っています。

昨日も２０分ほど拝んで貰って、お布施をお渡ししたのですが、知り合いの住職さんだし、きちんとお勤めしてくれるし…ということで、毎回５０００円を入れさせて貰っています。地域によって差はあると思うのだけど、こんな感じなのかな。

今、９６歳の祖母が頑張って生きていてくれているので、そのうちから仏壇を購入し直すのもどうかなっと思うので見ているだけなんですが、最近の仏壇はモダンかつコンパクトになっていますね。

でも、購入し直す時期が遅ければ遅い方がいいな。とっくに覚悟は決めてはいるけれど、もう十分頑張ったと思うけど、でもまだ頑張って生きている祖母を私は応援していたい。