Vintage Japanese Prayer Board & 3D Somin Shorai Amulet

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Vintage Japanese Prayer Board & 3D Somin Shorai Amulet IMPORTANT NOTE Please know that items purchased from us will be shipped direct from California. Take advantage of our combined shipping to save even more! DETAILS OF ITEM This piece measures 3.5 inches high and 4.85 inches wide at the widest point. Ema, which means a picture of a horse in Japanese, was originally that, a wooden board with a painted picture of a horse. People wrote their wishes and prayers on the Ema and presented it to the shrine or the temple. Although in the beginning people presented actual horses when they made a wish, over the years people came to present pictures of horses instead. Today, Ema with other motifs are often used to make wishes as well. The three dimensional wooden piece on the Ema is a wooden hexagonal shaped amulet charm folk toy based on popular folk belief called Somin Shorai worship. Made of willow tree, it is an amulet for the prayer for good luck and especially for good health and epidemic prevention. Somin Shorai worship has a very long history: The Japan's oldest amulet dated more than 1,200 years old was excavated in Kyoto and it was a Somin Shorai charm. According to the inscription on the back of the piece, the main God of Tsushima Shinto shrine, Susano-O-no-Mikoto, the brother of Sun Goddess Amaterasu, was traveling disguised as an old beggar all over Japan and needed a place to stay for the night. Kotan Shorai, a man of great wealth refused to give him lodging but his elder brother, Somin Shorai was happy to welcome Susano-O for a night's lodging even though he was very poor. The next day when Susano-O was about to leave, he told Somin to make a small ring with congongrass (Imperata cylindrica) and wear it around his waist that would bring his family great luck and protection and would prevent Somin and his family from getting sick during great epidemics. Somin family and his descendants have placed a wooden signboard at the gate that reads "We are Somin Shorai's descendants" and they have always been spared from getting any epidemics. Based on this legend, a wooden amulet was made with the prayer writing in red and black that reads, "(we are the descendants of) Somin Shorai, Good luck and Great wealth." Small amulets are often used as a charm for children to wear and large piece is often offered at the Shinto Altar. The use of willow tree came from ancient Chinese Taoist concept that this tree has talismanic and medicinal qualities. Somin Shorai worship was born from the blending of Chinese Taoism and ancient Japanese Shintoism. This is a unique folk piece having both the elements of folk toy and a talismanic religious element as well. The branded inscription on the front of the piece reads "Tsushima Shinto shrine" in Aichi Prefecture of Japan. The condition is very good and its age is from the 1980's. PLEASE VISIT MY EBAY STORE BY CLICKING THE LINK ABOVE TO EASILY BROWSE BY CATEGORY ALL OF THE OTHER JAPANESE ANTIQUES AND COLLECTIBLES THAT ARE UP FOR AUCTION THIS WEEK. IF YOU LIKE WHAT YOU SEE, PLEASE BOOKMARK OUR AUCTIONS TO EASILY FIND US. THANKS FOR VIEWING THIS AUCTION.A FEW IMPORTANT NOTES:If you have any questions concerning this or other items we have up for auction, please don't hesitate to email me for an answer. We will do our best to email you a reply within one day. It is best to get your questions in early since we may not be available to respond to you within minutes or hours of the auction end. Of course, we will try to reply if it is possible. For all of those who wish to combine items, please email me to let me know of your intent and I will email you confirming this. This allows us to keep your winning items aside until you are ready to finalize your purchases. Items can only be combined for a two week period starting with the earliest winning item marking the beginning of the period. California residents will be charged a sales tax of 8.75% unless a valid California res... read more

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