The case joinery was a little complex. As a case piece, I suppose it’s a bit over built. There are a lot of details inside of the case to hold shelves and dividers. One of the big things in the case that remains to be seen how it will go is that the sides and top will be carved to give the cabinet some additional dimension. I’ll be thinking about how and when that part is going to happen until it does.

The other thing about the Butsudan is that it is also lit. I’m not sure when the idea of lighting it came to be part of the design. The doors all have Kumiko in them with a Japanese paper on the back of them. The case will contain an urn with ashes in it and other keepsakes and items meant to pay homage to an individual. So, the lighting will give detail and dimension to what is inside the cabinet. When the doors are closed the light will shine through the Kumiko, turning the cabinet into a light.

Getting lighting into the cabinet was tricky enough that I was afraid of trying things on the final piece. What would the lighting look like, how would I run wires, how would I hide transformers and dimmers. So, I decided to help answer these questions as well as figure out answers to some of the questions that I had I would create a mockup of the cabinet with a much simpler joinery to be able to try some things out.