Talismansthe gallery← talismans.guru
Japan & Korea · c. 300 BCE – today

Ema votive plaques

What it is
Wooden plaques (originally stand-in horses, “e-ma” meaning horse picture) bought at shrines, inscribed with wishes and hung for the kami to read. Painted with the year’s zodiac animal or the shrine’s emblem.
Making yours
About 15×9 cm pentagonal cedar or pine board with a painted front, blank back and a cord at the top.
See all 17, save the ones that feel rightAsk about having one made
The Votive Tablets of Itsukushima Temple (Itsukushima ema kagami), vol.2The Votive Tablets of Itsukushima Temple (Itsukushima ema kagami), vol.2Japan · c.1832Print from Women Resting in the Votive Picture Hall at AsakusaPrint from Women Resting in the Votive Picture Hall at AsakusaJapan, Edo period (1615–1868) · early 1790sVotive plaque of the actor Bando Mitsugoro III as Sasaki TakatsunaVotive plaque of the actor Bando Mitsugoro III as Sasaki TakatsunaJapan · 1821Wellcome Historical Medical Museum, Wigmore Street, London: the Chapel of Votive Tablets. Photograph from a negative of 1913.Wellcome Historical Medical Museum, Wigmore Street, London: the Chapel of Votive Tablets. Photograph from a negative of 1913.Kamakura-gu Shrine @ Kamakura (13921359174)Kamakura-gu Shrine @ Kamakura (13921359174)Votive-Picture Hall of the Shrine at Ikutama (Ikutama Ema-dō)Votive-Picture Hall of the Shrine at Ikutama (Ikutama Ema-dō)Japan · 1860Print from Women Resting in the Votive Picture Hall at AsakusaPrint from Women Resting in the Votive Picture Hall at AsakusaJapan, Edo period (1615–1868) · early 1790sVotive Pictures (Ema), from the series "A Selection of Horses (Uma-zukushi)"Votive Pictures (Ema), from the series "A Selection of Horses (Uma-zukushi)"Japan · 1822Wellcome Historical Medical Museum, Wigmore Street, London: the Chapel of Votive Tablets. Photograph from a negative of 1913.Wellcome Historical Medical Museum, Wigmore Street, London: the Chapel of Votive Tablets. Photograph from a negative of 1913.EmaEmaViewing Votive Plaques at MukojimaViewing Votive Plaques at MukojimaJapan · c. 1785/89Ema - Shinto shrine prayer cardsEma - Shinto shrine prayer cardsMeiji-jingu miko shopMeiji-jingu miko shopGoo jinja13Goo jinja13Kami ema, 2022Kami ema, 2022Ema (Japanese prayer boards) at a shrine in JapanEma (Japanese prayer boards) at a shrine in JapanHungEmaHungEma

More from Japan & Korea: Ofuda & paper charms · Engimono lucky figures · Korean bujeok & norigae
Every type in the gallery

Anything in the gallery can be made, by hand, in the prescribed metal or yours and, where the tradition names an hour, at that hour or with a plain note that it was not. Numbered. Price on commission, quoted first. I reply within one business day.