Japanese shrine wood plaque Mii-dera Temple by VintageFromJapan
Japanese shrine wood plaque Mii-dera Temple by VintageFromJapan
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 for thriving business and rush of business. There are a kid in Japanese traditional clothe doing "dog-walking" and a dog is pulled by him .
********This Ema is from Mii-dera (三井寺,御井寺?), formally called Onjō-ji (園城寺?), - a Buddhist temple located at the foot of Mount Hiei, in the city of Ōtsu, in Shiga Prefecture. It is only a short distance from both Kyoto, and Lake Biwa, Japan's largest lake.
三井の晩鐘 - The evening bell at Mii-dera - Bonsho (Japanese: 梵鐘, Buddhist bells), also known as tsurigane (釣り鐘, hanging bells) or ōgane (大鐘, great bells) are large bells found in Buddhist temples throughout Japan, used to summon the monks to prayer and to demarcate periods of time. Rather than containing a clapper, bonshō are struck from the outside, using either a handheld mallet or a beam suspended on ropes.
This Ema is 20th in August, the 3rd year of the Heisei Era (1991).
It measures about 14.6 x 9.1 x 0.5 cm thick.
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