The ema of Kakkyo-yama in Yasaka shrineEma (絵馬, Ema) are small wooden plaques on which Shinto worshipers write their prayers or wishes. The ema are then left hanging up at the shrine, where the kami (spirits or gods) can read them. They tend to be fairly uniform in size and shape, but many have different pictures painted on them, of animals or other Shinto imagery, and they often have the word negai (願意) or 'Wish' written along the side. Stereotypically, the image on the plaque would be of a horse, uma or ma in Japanese (馬); ema means, literally, "horse picture". This name originates from the fact that real horses were once offered by the wealthy in exchange for blessings at shrines.
Beginning in the Edo period, during the peak of the popularity of the kabuk theatre, it became quite common for temples and shrines to be given ema by the Torii school of painters. The Torii held a near-monopoly on the production of signboards and other promotional materials for the kabuki theatres, and would donate large paintings, on wooden boards, of kabuki actors to the shrines. Despite depicting what might be seen as an unusual subject for the religious context, these paintings were well-received, and incorporated with the shrine's other religious icons.
Unlike in most Western traditions, where one prays to revere, praise, and bless God, in Shinto, people tend to ask the kami for a wide variety of things, ranging from world peace down to good scores on the next exam. At some of the more central and popular shrines, such as Yasak Shrine in Kyoto, one can find ema in many languages, as tourists leave their own wishes and prayers.
http://jp.youtube.com/watch?v=VBewTiblmOg
Introduction and History of the Gion Festival (Gion Maturi) no.2
Intoroduction and History Gion Maturi(Gion Festival)no.1
The Gion festival parade of 1993 was occasionally rainy weather by cloudy sky. The cruise advances with a ceremony of the worship as God of ceremony and Yasaka-jinja Shrine checking the turn of the parade. The musical accompaniment of the Shijo Kasa-Hoko for a festival is seen, too.
郭巨山には、二体の御人形が祀られており、一体は後漢の郭巨で、もう一体童子で郭巨の子供である。
郭巨山の金の釜は、明治２２年の新調で木製総金箔塗り。
"Kakkyo-yama Gionmaturi at kyoto Japan" On this floot there is a figure of "kakkyo", a poor Chinese who lived in the third centhury. He was about to burry his son alive so his son's share of food could be given to Kakkyo's very old mother. When he was digging in the ground, he found a potful of gold coins which saved his son's life and mode his whole family rich. The two figures on this floot are Kakkyo and his son who stand happily with a pot of gold coins between then.
