tōba ［塔婆］ (): A shortened form of the term sotoba, the Japanese transliteration of the Sanskrit word stūpa, a type of shrine originating in India where the relics of Shakyamuni Buddha or other sage monks were housed. In Japan, tōba is a flat wooden memorial tablet, long and narrow in shape, bearing inscriptions such as passages from the sutras and the posthumous Buddhist name of the deceased. It is placed upright beside the grave during memorial services and left there. See also stupa.