ema

are small wooden plaques, common to Japan, in which Shinto and Buddhist worshippers write prayers or wishes. are left hanging up at the shrine, where the (spirits or gods) are believed to receive them. Typically wide and tall, they often carry images or are shaped like animals, or symbols from the zodiac, Shinto, or the particular shrine or temple. 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. Once inscribed with a wish, are hung at the shrine until they are ritually burned at special events, symbolic of the liberation of the wish from the writer. History In some early Shinto and folk traditions of Japan, horses were seen as carrying messages from the , and were usually used to transmit requests during droughts or famines. Horses were extremely expensive, and figures made of clay or wood have been found dating to the Nara period. The earliest text record of a substitution is from the from 1013, in which an offering of three paper horses is made at the Kitano Tenjin shrine. During the Kamakura period, the practice entered into Buddhist practice, as evidenced in painted scrolls of at Buddhist temples. The depictions of objects aside from horses can be traced to either the Muromachi or Tokugawa periods, beginning with larger sized (named , literally 'large ') but also representing new forms, such as ships. Artists of this period, such as Hokusai, began to create in distinct styles, and creating the objects became a professionalized craft. Today, they are mostly produced at or by the shrine or temple in which they are found. Some shrines have faced criticism for profiting from the sale of . In 1979, two shrines dedicated to education sold for examination success, transforming the funds into a scholarship in 1980 after public outcry.