Bodaiji

A bodaiji (菩提寺 lit. "bodhi temple"^?), in Japanese Buddhism is a temple which, generation after generation, takes care of a family's dead giving them burial and performing ceremonies in their soul's favor.^[1]

The name is because in Japan the term bodai (菩提^?), which originally meant just Buddhist enlightenment (satori), has also come to mean either the care of one's dead to ensure their welfare after death or happiness in the beyond itself.^[1]

Several samurai families had their bodaiji built to order, for example the Tokugawa, while others did like commoners do, and simply adopted an existing temple as family temple. Families may have more than one bodaiji. The Tokugawa clan for example had two, while the Ashikaga clan had several, both in the Kantō and in the Kansai.