仏教用語・信行用語
Sotoba (Toba)
卒塔婆（塔婆）
Sotoba is a stupa which was phonetically translated into Chinese characters as Sotoba. Originally, it meant the pagoda in which the sacred relics of the Buddha were enshrined. Later, it came to refer to a tower set up as a grave post for the deceased. A sotoba is made of various materials, such as wood or stone.
In HBS, NamuMyohoRengeKyo or Myoho are written in the upper part of a sotoba, then below the Odaimoku, the posthumous Buddhist name or the deceased person’s name is written, being followed by the charcters ‘Tsuifuku sazen shodaibodai’ or its abbreviation ‘Tsuizenbodai’ which means doing meritorious acts to send holy merits to the soul of the deceased. On both sides of these characters, the mourner’s name (choshu) and the death date of the deceased (meinichi) are written.
In HBS, NamuMyohoRengeKyo or Myoho are written in the upper part of a sotoba, then below the Odaimoku, the posthumous Buddhist name or the deceased person’s name is written, being followed by the charcters ‘Tsuifuku sazen shodaibodai’ or its abbreviation ‘Tsuizenbodai’ which means doing meritorious acts to send holy merits to the soul of the deceased. On both sides of these characters, the mourner’s name (choshu) and the death date of the deceased (meinichi) are written.