There are no uniform standards, but miniature Buddhist altars are gradually becoming more standardized. Lacquered gold and precious tropical wood Buddhist altars are the two traditional kinds of altar, but new types have also appeared. Gold altars conform to the traditional pattern and are impressive, magnificent objects with lacquer, gold leaf, gold and silver lacquer, and fittings. Japanese cypress is used for gold Buddhist altars, but the more popular products are mostly made of Japanese cedar. Altars made of tropical woods are a simpler kind which began to gain in popularity from the 1910s.
Altars made of tropical woods are strong and imposing pieces of craftsmanship.
Materials such as sandalwood and ebony are frequently imported from countries in Asia such as Thailand and Indonesia. The size of a Buddhist altar is expressed in terms of the width of the frame at the bottom. 80cm for city models and 115cm for rural models are the standard sizes for Shin Sect of Buddhist altars, but recently demand for miniature models has grown and 67cm and 55cm models are now common. The best altars come from Kyoto, but the largest producer is Nagoya. Altogether there are fifteen areas of production in Japan, including Niigata, Shinshu Iiyama, Osaka, Hikone, Yamagata, Okayama and Tokyo.