Japanese Wood Plaque EMA in Sumiyoshi Grand Shrine - Year of Horse (E5-21)
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 Sumiyoshi taisha (住吉大社), also known as Sumiyoshi Grand Shrine, is a Shinto shrine in Sumiyoshi ward in the city of Osaka, Japan.
It is called "Sumiyoshi-san" or "Sumiyossan" by the locals, and is famous for the large crowds that come to the shrine on New Year's Day for hatsumōde.
Sumiyoshi taisha enshrines the Sumiyoshi tanjin—Sokotsutsu no Onomikoto, Nakatsutsu no Onomikoto, and Uwatsutsu no Onomikoto—and Okinagatarashihime no Mikoto (Empress Jingū), and they are collectively known as the "Sumiyoshi Ōkami", the great gods of Sumiyoshi. Another term is "Sumiyoshi no Ōgami no Miya".
It gives its name to a style of shrine architecture known as Sumiyoshi-zukuri.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sumiyoshi_taisha
It has an image of horse as year of horse and pine tree.
住吉大社 = Sumiyoshi Grand Shrine
It measures about 9 x 6.8 x 0.6 cm.
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