This is an "Ema".

This is an "Ema". "Ema" are small wooden plaques on which Shinto worshippers write their prayers or wishes. The ema are then left hanging up at the shrine, where the kami (spirits or gods) receive them. They bear various pictures, often of animals or other Shinto imagery, and many have the word gan'i (願意), meaning "wish", written along the side. In ancient times people would donate horses to the shrines for good favor, over time this was transferred to a wooden plaque with a picture of a horse, and later still to the various wooden plaques sold today for the same purpose.

Ema are sold for various wishes. Common reasons for buying a plaque are for success in work or on exams, marital bliss, to have children, and health. Some shrines specialize in certain types of these plaques, and the larger shrines may offer more than one. Sales of ema help support the shrine financially.


********This Ema is from Imakumano Kannonji Temple, Kyoto Prefecture.

Kumano Gongen was a popular deity in the late Heian era – Emperor Go Shirakawa was a fervent follower of the Kumano Gongen and for nearly twenty years after his abdication he went annually to Kumano. Prior to Emperor Go Shirakawa, this temple was known simply as Kannon-ji but he renamed it Shin Nachizan Kannon-ji and named the surrounding area Ima Kumano. He also established the Kumano Gongen shrine at Kannonji. It is probably at this time that the Kobo Daishi story came to involve the old man as Kumano Gongen. It was convenient to have this temple/shrine complex in Kyoto city so that people wouldn’t have to travel all the way precariously to the real Kumano! For example, during the Gempei wars (1180-1185) it was not possible to travel and Emperor Go Shirakawa traveled to the shrine at Kannonji instead.

This area was decimated in the Onin Wars of the late 16th Century and afterwards priests traveled the countryside soliciting funds to rebuild it.

Many Emperors are buried here including Emperor Komei who was Emperor Meiji’s successor.

Also having close connections with Kumano and Seigantoji (Temple #1), Imakumano (Present-day Kumano) Kannonji provides a tranquil oasis in the midst of the city of Kyoto. Stepping into the leafy grounds here, after crossing the red lacquer bridge, you immediately feel as if you could indeed be far away in the primeval forests of Kumano instead of the middle of a city. Sipping the waters of the ancient spring at the Five Wisdoms Well is said to improve your mental acuity, and the temple has documented many miracles for over a thousand years of curing headaches.

This temple is #15 in the Saigoku Kannon Pilgrimage.

The Saigoku Kannon Pilgrimage (西国三十三所 Saigoku Sanjūsan-sho) is a pilgrimage of thirty-three Buddhist temples throughout the Kansai region of Japan, similar to the Shikoku Pilgrimage. In addition to the official thirty-three temples, there are an additional three known as bangai (番外). The principal image in each temple is Kannon, known to Westerners as the Bodhisattva of Compassion (or sometimes mistranslated as 'Goddess of Mercy') ; however, there is some variation among the images and the powers they possess.

It is traditional for pilgrims to wear white clothing and conical straw hats and to carry walking sticks. While the route was historically traveled by foot, today pilgrims usually use cars or trains. Pilgrims record their progress with a prayer book (納経帖 Nōkyō-chō), which the temple staff mark with red stamps and Japanese calligraphy indicating the temple number, the temple name, and the specific name of the Kannon image. Some pilgrims receive the stamps and calligraphy on wall scrolls (for a decorative hanging) and on their white coats (to be cremated in) as well.


This Ema is from the 17th year of the Heisei era (2005)
It measures about 13.5cm x 8.6cm x 7mm.