''Mitsu-gusoku'' (Japanese: 三具足) in

Japanese Buddhism Buddhism was first established in Japan in the 6th century CE. Most of the Japanese Buddhists belong to new schools of Buddhism which were established in the Kamakura period (1185－1333). During the Edo period (1603–1868), Buddhism was cont ...

is a traditional arrangement of three articles, often displayed in front of a painting of the

Buddha Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha (),* * * was a wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist legends, he was ...

or important Buddhist figures. The articles normally consist of a

censer A censer, incense burner, perfume burner or pastille burner is a vessel made for burning incense or perfume in some solid form. They vary greatly in size, form, and material of construction, and have been in use since ancient times throughout t ...

, a candlestick, later in the shape of a

red-crowned crane The red-crowned crane (''Grus japonensis''), also called the Manchurian crane (; the Chinese character '丹' means 'red', '頂/顶' means 'crown (anatomy), crown' and '鶴/鹤' means 'crane'), is a large East Asian Crane (bird), crane among the ...

, and a

vase A vase ( or ) is an open container. It can be made from a number of materials, such as ceramics, glass, non- rusting metals, such as aluminium, brass, bronze, or stainless steel. Even wood has been used to make vases, either by using tree specie ...

for flower offerings. They are placed next to each other either on a tablet or a small table. This type of arrangement became popular during the

Kamakura period The is a period of History of Japan, Japanese history that marks the governance by the Kamakura shogunate, officially established in 1192 in Kamakura, Kanagawa, Kamakura by the first ''shōgun'' Minamoto no Yoritomo after the conclusion of the G ...

and Nanbokucho period. The ''tatehana'' ("standing flowers") style of the ''mitsu-gusoku'' was the earliest form of flower arrangements in Japan, which was later formalised into the art of ''

ikebana is the Japanese art of flower arrangement. It is also known as . The origin of ikebana can be traced back to the ancient Japanese custom of erecting Evergreen, evergreen trees and decorating them with flowers as yorishiro () to invite the go ...

''. It is mentioned that starting in the mid-15th century, the priest

Ikenobō is the oldest and largest school of ''ikebana'', the Japanese practice of giving plants and flowers invigorated new life. The Buddhist practice of Ikenobo has existed since the building of the Rokkaku-do temple. The actual organized school ins ...

Senkei of the

Rokkaku-dō The , official name , is a Buddhism, Buddhist temple in Kyoto, Japan, said to have been established by Prince Shōtoku. The name comes from its main hall's hexagonal shape. This temple is part of the Saigoku Kannon Pilgrimage. History Rokkaku-d� ...

in Kyoto developed new approaches and techniques to flower arrangements, for which he received praise. A variance exists which uses five articles, known as ''go-gusoku'' (五具足).

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Buddhist ritual implements {{japan-religion-stub