Plaque Item Number: N2.1356 from the MOA: University of British Columbia
Description
Wooden plaque with frame and eight characters painted in black on the face. On the back is written in pencil "Ikegam Emado" opposite "Imari Shrine".
History Of Use
For religious use as pictorial votive offerings in Shinto shrines or temples. The history of ema can be traced back to the eighth century, however, the earliest preserved ema that can be reliably dated is from the end of the 14th century. Even though ema is associated with Shintoism, it is used in relation to people's domestic events, for example, after a baby's birth, parents, grandparents go to the shrine to thank the deities and offer these ema. There are two kinds of ema: koema and oema. Koema are the small size ema which are offered by members of the general populace, either in fulfillment of a vow or as an entreaty to a deity for help in achieving an objective or rectifying some unfortunate condition. Oema are the large ema displayed in conspicuous locations in shrines or temples and focus more on the artistic representations.
Iconographic Meaning
Me means eye(s) in Japanese. It is used to pray for cure to eye problem or illness. The character is duplicated in mirror image, as to represent eyes, called 'mukai-me'
Cultural Context
religious
Item History
- Made in Japan
- Owned by Union College before 1960
- Received from Union College (Donor) during 1960
What
- Name
- Plaque
- Identification Number
- N2.1356
- Type of Item
- plaque
- Overall
- height 19.7 cm, width 29.8 cm, depth 1.3 cm
Who
- Culture
- Japanese
- Previous Owner
- Union College
- Received from
- Union College (Donor)
Where
- Holding Institution
- MOA: University of British Columbia
- Made in
- Japan
When
- Ownership Date
- before 1960
- Acquisition Date
- during 1960
Other
- Condition
- good
- Current Location
- Case 79
- Accession Number
- 1813/0007