Wooden Ema at Meiji Shrine, Tokyo

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Meiji Shrine (明治神宮), located in Shibuya, Tokyo, is the Shinto shrine that is dedicated to the deified spirits of Emperor Meiji and his wife, Empress Shōken. Many religious rites and wedding ceremonies can be observed there. Under a big tree at the main court yard, there's a corner for well wishers to write their wishes on wooden ema. Ema (絵馬) are small wooden plaques on which Shinto worshippers write their prayers or wishes. The ema are then left hanging up at the shrine, where the kami (spirits or gods) receive them.

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Size: 4976px × 2800px
Location: 1-1, Kamizono-chō Yoyogi, Shibuya-ku Tokyo 151-0053 Japan
Photo credit: © Moonie's World Photography / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No

Keywords: attraction, belief, boards, culture, ema, hanging, japan, japanese, jingu, jingu-ji, kanji, meiji, meiji-jingu, picture-horse, plaques, prayers, script, shinto, shintoism, shrine, tablets, tourist, tradition, votive, wishes, wooden, writing, 明治神宮, 絵馬