saisen
In Japanese, saisen (賽銭) is money offered to the gods or bodhisattvas. Commonly this money is put in a saisen box (賽銭箱, saisen-bako), a common item at Shinto shrines and Buddhist temples in Japan. • Illustration — A saisenbako
saisen
Urashimataro · Public domain
- Field
- sacrifice · coins as votive offering
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wikidata · Q988479 · wikipedia · Saisen
In this article
Form
Form
Used to collect offerings, a saisen box is typically a wooden coin box, with a grate for the top cover. This design allows coins to be tossed in, while still preventing the money from being retrieved easily. Some have grates made of round bars, or have borders that slope downward, allowing the money to slide into the box easily.
Offerings
Offerings
The amount of money offered is usually small, often in coin format. Five yen coins are a popular offering at saisen boxes due to the pun between five yen, go-en (五円), and the concept of an unseen connection between humans who know each other, go-en (御縁).
Theft
Theft
Saisen boxes always have locks, but thefts of saisen are on the rise. Some shrine priests have caught thieves in the act, while others take preventive measures by adding covers to the saisen boxes.
Gallery
Gallery
• Illustration — After offering a small amount of money, Japanese people clasp their hands in prayer. • Illustration — Saisen-bako at Shinto shrine in Japan • Illustration — Saisen-bako at small Shinto shrine in Japan • Illustration — Saisen-bako at Buddhist temples in Japan
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Licensing
Text attribution
Part of the biographical narrative on this page reuses licensed material. Its origin, revision and licence are recorded here.
The biographical narrative on this page is based on the Wikipedia article Saisen, revision 1374043057 (EN edition), by its contributors. VALÉORINE has edited that text and built its own documentary record around it. The reused material is available under CC BY-SA 4.0, and this page's reuse of it is offered under the same licence. Everything else on this page — the chronology, the holdings, the evidence, the plates and the connections — is VALÉORINE's own record. Sources and licences.
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Broader subject
1- coins as votive offeringTerminology
Established from a fact already recorded on a verified source.
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 14 August 2026.
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