*SHIPPING OPTIONS VARY DEPENDING ON THE DESTINATION, PLEASE SCROLL TO THE END OF THIS LISTING FOR MORE DETAILS.

This listing is for a wooden ema dating back to Showa 63 (1988).  The red writing on the left says Yasukuni Shrine, and the black writing on the right refers to the Year of the Dragon in 1988.  Yasukuni is a Shinto-style shrine commemorating Japan’s war dead, and it is also famous for being the first place in Tokyo for the cherry blossoms to open.  This shrine is also a very popular choice for the ritual first shrine visit of the year.

An ema is a traditional wooden votive prayer on which Shinto and Buddhist worshippers inscribe their wishes or prayers. Ema typically depict figures and zodiac animals, and they are hung at shrines and temples in the hope that the gods receive them and answer their prayers. The very first ema were said to be painted pictures of horses which were offered to shrines in place of real horses. The tradition of donating horses goes back to one of the first emperors of Japan, down in Kyoto. This was done to appease the gods when the weather wasn’t cooperating – a white horse was given to ease unseasonably heavy rainfall, and a black horse was offered to curb a drought. Traditionally ema were very large in size and often painted by well-known artists and craftsmen. During the Edo period they began to change in size due to the number of ordinary people travelling around the country visiting shrines and temples. These everyday folks were not so wealthy so shrines began to offer small wood framed ema as an alternative. This particular type were either hand painted by artists, or by those commissioned by the shrine. Sadly not many remain as most of them were burned in ritual fires at the end of each year.

Size

11.4cm (4.4”) from top to bottom x 17.5cm (6.8”) across

Condition

It’s in very good condition and is unused.

THESE ARE SHIPPING ESTIMATES BASED ON THE CURRENT GLOBAL SITUATION                                                                 

**Germany, France, Greece, Spain, Poland, Austria, Slovakia, Lithuania, Slovenia:  NO SHIPPING.  Very strict and expensive packaging laws in place and we are not licensed to send products to these countries.  We have no plan to register at this time because the process is in some cases very expensive and complicated, plus each country has its own set of regulations and application process. 

**USA, UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Switzerland, Norway: Airmail Small Packet (approx. 15-28 days).  Combined shipping available up to 2kgs for Airmail Small Packet (please send us a message).

**Asia:  Airmail Small Packet (approx. 15-21 days).  Combined shipping available up to 2kgs for Airmail Small Packet (please send us a message).

**Central Asia, Middle East, South Africa, Brazil, Mexico:  EMS Express 10-15 days.

**Russia:  No shipping methods available.