![]() ![]() Historically, groups of farmers or small merchants could organize to hire a local artisan to create an ema to be donated to a shrine for a specific purpose, such as a good harvest. : 50 Symbols Įma on display at Dazaifu Tenmangu shrine in Fukuoka Prefecture. ![]() In 1979, two shrines dedicated to education sold ema for examination success, transforming the funds into a scholarship in 1980 after public outcry. : 31 Some shrines have faced criticism for profiting from the sale of ema. Today, they are mostly produced at or by the shrine or temple in which they are found. Artists of this period, such as Hokusai, began to create ema in distinct styles, and creating the objects became a professionalized craft. The depictions of objects aside from horses can be traced to either the Muromachi or Tokugawa periods, beginning with larger sized ema (named ōema, literally 'large ema') but also representing new forms, such as ships. ![]() : 27 During the Kamakura period, the practice entered into Buddhist practice, as evidenced in painted scrolls of ema at Buddhist temples. : 27 The earliest text record of a substitution is from the Honcho Bunsui from 1013, in which an offering of three paper horses is made at the Kitano Tenjin shrine. : 27 Horses were extremely expensive, and figures made of clay or wood have been found dating to the Nara period. In some early Shinto and folk traditions of Japan, horses were seen as carrying messages from the kami, and were usually used to transmit requests during droughts or famines. ![]()
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