{"product_id":"vintage-japanese-buddhist-altar-set-goro-gu-five-piece-bronze-meiji-era-kacho-relief-zo-shokudai-stamped-foundry-mark","title":"Vintage Japanese Buddhist Altar Set - Goro-gu Five-Piece Bronze - Meiji Era - Kacho Relief - Zō Shokudai - Stamped Foundry Mark","description":"\u003cp\u003e𝗔𝗕𝗢𝗨𝗧 𝗧𝗛𝗜𝗦 𝗦𝗘𝗧\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis vintage Japanese bronze altar set presents the complete Goro-gu  - \u003cbr\u003ethe Five Sacred Implements of the Japanese Buddhist altar - in matched patinated \u003cbr\u003eseido ( bronze) with unified kacho (bird-and-flower) relief decoration \u003cbr\u003ethroughout. To find all five pieces together, in matched condition, with original \u003cbr\u003epatina intact, is genuinely exceptional outside institutional collections.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe Goro-gu arrangement - one incense burner at center, one candle stand, one \u003cbr\u003eincense box, two flower vases in symmetrical flanking positions - represents \u003cbr\u003ethe complete formal altar layout of Japanese Pure Land , Sōtō Zen , \u003cbr\u003eand Rinzai Zen  Buddhist practice. This set would have served a family \u003cbr\u003ealtar (butsudan) or small temple altar for generations.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗙𝗜𝗩𝗘 𝗣𝗜𝗘𝗖𝗘𝗦\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e① 香炉 KŌRO - Three-Legged Incense Burner (Center)\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe formal centerpiece of any Goro-gu arrangement. This kōro follows \u003cbr\u003ethe kanae form - the ancient Chinese ritual tripod vessel whose \u003cbr\u003eform entered Japanese Buddhist metalwork through Tang Dynasty China \u003cbr\u003eand has remained unchanged for over a thousand years.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe body carries continuous kacho relief - birds in flight among \u003cbr\u003eflowering branches - cast in high takabori (高彫) relief with \u003cbr\u003eexceptional detail. The handles are cast dragon forms ( ryū-mimi) \u003cbr\u003e-the dragon as guardian of sacred space. Three sturdy feet \u003cbr\u003eprovide stable elevation for burning incense above the altar surface.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMost significantly: the base carries a square foundry mark \u003cbr\u003e(銘, mei) in raised characters - identifying the casting workshop \u003cbr\u003eby name. This level of documentation is rare in altar bronzes \u003cbr\u003eand confirms both Japanese origin and period manufacture.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eNatural black patina (黒錆, kuro-sabi): achieved through \u003cbr\u003edecades of exposure to incense smoke, temple air, and \u003cbr\u003ethe oxidation process of high-quality bronze - this \u003cbr\u003epatina cannot be replicated and should never be removed.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e② 香合 KŌGŌ - Incense Box with Shishi Lion Lid\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe kōgō stores the kōgai - the aromatic incense material \u003cbr\u003eused in formal Buddhist and tea ceremony ritual. This example \u003cbr\u003eis crowned by a cast shishi (Buddhist guardian lion) \u003cbr\u003ein full three-dimensional form, seated with open mouth, \u003cbr\u003epierced for incense smoke passage.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe shishi is Japan's most powerful protective deity-animal -\u003cbr\u003eappearing at temple gates, altar flanks, and sacred thresholds \u003cbr\u003ethroughout the country. A shishi-topped kōgō is among the \u003cbr\u003emost auspicious altar implement configurations.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe body carries ume ( plum blossom) and botan ( peony) \u003cbr\u003erelief - the flowers of winter endurance and aristocratic \u003cbr\u003eabundance - harmonized with the bird-and-plum theme of the set.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e③ 燭台 SHOKUDAI - Elephant-Footed Candle Stand\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe shokudai in this set follows the rare zōkyaku \u003cbr\u003econfiguration - the base supported by a cast elephant (zō) \u003cbr\u003efigure in full relief. The elephant in Japanese Buddhism is \u003cbr\u003ethe sacred mount of Fugen Bosatsu (Samantabhadra \u003cbr\u003eBodhisattva) - the embodiment of Buddhist practice and \u003cbr\u003emeditative concentration - making the elephant base not \u003cbr\u003emerely decorative but iconographically precise.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe candle spike retains its original gold-toned \u003cbr\u003ebrass finish - unoxidized, still bright - a remarkable \u003cbr\u003epreservation detail. The middle body carries the set's \u003cbr\u003esignature kacho relief.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e④ \u0026amp; ⑤ 花瓶 KABIN - Matched Pair of Flower Vases\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe two flower vases are cast from the same mold - \u003cbr\u003esymmetrical in every dimension, matched in patina depth, \u003cbr\u003eunified in relief decoration. Lotus-petal (renben) \u003cbr\u003ebases connect them explicitly to Buddhist iconography - \u003cbr\u003ethe lotus emerging from muddy water toward light being \u003cbr\u003ethe foundational symbol of Buddhist enlightenment.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe kacho relief on each vase - birds among plum branches - \u003cbr\u003eechoes the incense burner and candle stand, creating a \u003cbr\u003evisually unified altar surface that speaks a single \u003cbr\u003edecorative language.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e𝗞𝗔𝗖𝗛𝗢: 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗗𝗘𝗖𝗢𝗥𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗩𝗘 𝗣𝗥𝗢𝗚𝗥𝗔𝗠\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe bird-and-flower ( kacho) decorative scheme that unifies \u003cbr\u003ethis set is not merely ornamental. In the Japanese Buddhist \u003cbr\u003etradition, the natural world - birds, flowers, water, mountains - \u003cbr\u003eis itself a manifestation of the dharma: the teaching of \u003cbr\u003eimpermanence and interdependence expressed through the \u003cbr\u003eperpetual cycle of seasons, blooming, and passing.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePlum blossom (ume): endurance through winter, the first \u003cbr\u003eflowering before warmth returns -the bodhisattva quality \u003cbr\u003eof persisting through difficulty.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBirds in flight: the soul's freedom from attachment, \u003cbr\u003ethe dharma spreading across the world like birds across the sky.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis iconographic program - running continuously across all \u003cbr\u003efive objects - means the altar set functions as a complete \u003cbr\u003etheological statement in bronze.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e𝗠𝗔𝗧𝗘𝗥𝗜𝗔𝗟 \u0026amp; 𝗣𝗘𝗥𝗜𝗢𝗗\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMaterial: Seido (bronze) - copper-tin alloy - \u003cbr\u003ethe traditional Japanese temple metal, distinct from \u003cbr\u003ethe shinier brass (shinchu) used in later \u003cbr\u003ecommercial production. Bronze produces the deep, \u003cbr\u003ewarm-dark tonal quality visible throughout this set.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eCasting technique: sand-cast ( sunagata-chūzō) \u003cbr\u003ewith post-cast hand-finishing of relief details -\u003cbr\u003ethe standard method of quality Japanese foundries \u003cbr\u003ethrough the Meiji and Taishō periods.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFoundry mark: raised square mei on incense burner base \u003cbr\u003e-named workshop, consistent with established Meiji-period \u003cbr\u003emetalwork tradition.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eEstimated period: Meiji to early Taishō era \u003cbr\u003e(c. 1880–1920), based on casting style, relief treatment, \u003cbr\u003epatina character, and foundry mark format.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e𝗣𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗡𝗔 \u0026amp; 𝗖𝗔𝗥𝗘\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe deep black-brown patina throughout this set is the result \u003cbr\u003eof natural oxidation over approximately 100 years - accelerated \u003cbr\u003eand deepened by incense smoke, a uniquely beautiful form of \u003cbr\u003eaging that only genuine temple bronzes develop. The high \u003cbr\u003epoints of the relief casting retain their original warm \u003cbr\u003ebronze tone while recessed areas have oxidized to near-black, \u003cbr\u003ecreating a natural chiaroscuro that no artificial patination \u003cbr\u003ecan replicate.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eCare instructions: Do not polish. Clean only with a dry \u003cbr\u003esoft cloth. The patina is the most valuable aspect of \u003cbr\u003ethese objects - it is the record of their century of use.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e𝗦𝗘𝗧 𝗖𝗢𝗡𝗧𝗘𝗡𝗧𝗦 \u0026amp; 𝗖𝗢𝗡𝗗𝗜𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eComplete Goro-gu (五具足) set:\u003cbr\u003e- 1 × Kōro (香炉) three-legged incense burner - with foundry stamp\u003cbr\u003e- 1 × Kōgō (香合) incense box - with shishi lion lid, complete\u003cbr\u003e- 1 × Shokudai (燭台) candle stand - elephant base, gold spike intact\u003cbr\u003e- 2 × Kabin (花瓶) flower vases - matched pair\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eCondition: Very good to excellent for period. \u003cbr\u003eNatural patina intact throughout - no polishing, \u003cbr\u003eno restoration. Minor wear consistent with age \u003cbr\u003eand use. All pieces structurally sound.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e📋 Period estimated from casting style, patina character, \u003cbr\u003eand foundry mark. No external certificate of authenticity. \u003cbr\u003eSold as-is. This set is sold as a complete unit - \u003cbr\u003epieces are not available separately.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Chikoyaki","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":45156468228175,"sku":"CKY-BRZ-020-GRGU-KCHO","price":699.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0667\/6588\/1423\/files\/IMG_E1591_result.jpg?v=1777534353","url":"https:\/\/chikoyaki.com\/products\/vintage-japanese-buddhist-altar-set-goro-gu-five-piece-bronze-meiji-era-kacho-relief-zo-shokudai-stamped-foundry-mark","provider":"Chikoyaki","version":"1.0","type":"link"}