Ema
A small wooden plaque on which wishes are written and left at a Japanese shrine.
Also: wooden prayer plaque
An ema is a small wooden board, sold at shrines and temples in Japan, on which visitors write a wish or a thanks, and hang it on a rack beside the shrine. The front often carries a picture, such as the animal of the zodiac year, and the back is for the wish: passing an exam, a safe birth, recovery from illness or success in love. The word means picture horse, from the old custom of offering real horses to the gods, later replaced by painted boards. Walking past the racks, one can read hundreds of hopes in many languages.
Region: East Asia