Ema (絵馬）
Ema is small pentagon-shaped wooden plaque dedicate to
Shrine and Temple.
Shrine and Temple.
One side of the plaque usually has a picture of horse or the
animal representing the zodiac sigh of that year.
On the other side, which is blank, people write their wishes
for wide variety of things, then hang the Ema up the certain
places in the Shrine or Temple.
for wide variety of things, then hang the Ema up the certain
places in the Shrine or Temple.
The custom originally came from wealthy people’s practice
of offering real horses when they made wishes.
of offering real horses when they made wishes.
Eventually, this turned into the tradition of giving pictures of
horse, as donating real horses became too much of financial
strain.
horse, as donating real horses became too much of financial
strain.
