JAPANESE CULTURE AND TRADITIONS

Ema—A Tool for Communicating with the Gods

It all started with the gift of a white horse

Anyone who has visited a shrine in Japan has surely seen a collection of ema, or prayer tablets, containing the various prayers or thanksgivings of thousands of visitors. These wooden plaques generally have a picture on one side and a place for writing on the other.

Ema, Kirishima Shrine, Kagoshima Prefecture.