ID Number

Title

Item Name

Culture

Place Made

Date Owned

Owner

Acquisition Date

Source

Measurements

Condition

Current Location

Accession Number

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

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.