Votive Pictures: A Japanese Superstition

Author(s): Ensho Ashikaga

Source: Western Folklore, Vol. 13, No. 1 (Jan., 1954), pp. 29-33
Published by: Western States Folklore Society
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Votive Pictures:
A
Japanese
Superstition
ENSHO ASHIKAGA
IN
JAPAN
are found
many
votive
pictures hung
in Shinto shrines and Bud-
dhist
temples.
These
pictures
are called ema in
Japanese, literally meaning
the
"pictures
of horses." The
ema,
in the form of framed tablets with chevron-
shaped tops,
are
generally hung
in a hall of
worship
or in a
gallery,
but a
shrine or
temple
in
possession
of
many pictures
has a
special building
named
Emad6
(an
ex-voto
hall)
to contain them. In most cases the
Emad6
serves
as a
resting place
for visitors.
Generally speaking,
a votive
offering
is
presented
to a shrine or
temple
by
a
person
who is
going
to
pray
to a
deity
or
Buddha,
or whose
prayer
has
been answered.
People's prayers
are
various;
consequently
there are all sorts
of
offerings, among
which are found a considerable number of votive offer-
ings
for
supplicating
the cure of diseases as well as
prevention
of them. This
fact must be due to the belief that the will of a
deity
or of a Buddha could
prevent
or cure diseases. The Standard
Dictionary of
Folklore
says
that
reports
from all
parts
of the world indicate that cures have been effected
by
the intervention of saints or
gods
or
by
faith,
prayer,
or meditation.' It is
natural that
people
of
old,
when the nature of a disease was not
compre-
hended,
should have believed that their wishes for
prevention
and cures
could have been realized
by
a
god's
will or
by prayer.
It should be taken
into
consideration, however,
that the belief of
presenting
articles for
pre-
vention and cures aims also at the satisfaction of their
respective
desires
therewith.
Offerings presented
to shrines and
temples
to
pray
for cures and
preven-
tion,
or
presented
as a token of one's
gratitude
for
having
had a disease
cured are too numerous to be mentioned here. The ema or votive
picture
is one that has shown a
development
of its own. There are two kinds of
ema,
large
and
small,
and the small-sized
one,
which is dealt with
here,
is
regarded
as a
product
of
superstition.
The
following
will illustrate the nature
of the ema of small size:
1.
"Saka-matsu"
(Inverted pine tree).-A picture
of an inverted
pine
tree is
presented
to the Sakamatsu Shrine in
Wakayama
for the
purpose
of
praying
for
1Standard Dictionary
of
Folklore
(1949), I,
270o,
"cures."
[29]
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30
WESTERN FOLKLORE
the cure of trichiasis. The
presentation
of such a
picture
seems to have come from
the
partial similarity
between the sounds of the word for "inverted
pine
tree"
and of the word for "trichiasis"-the former is in
Japanese
called
saka-matsu,
the latter is called
saka-matsuge.
2. "Namazu"
(Catfish).-A person
who is troubled with leucoderma makes an
offering
of the
picture
of a catfish. This is said to have been caused
by
the fact
that leucoderma and catfish are both sounded namazu in
Japanese.
The
temple
noted for this
offering
is the Mine
Yakushi-d62
of
H6ryfiji,
Nara.
3.
"AAkaei"
(Sting ray).-A
sufferer from
piles
or
hemorrhoids,
giving up eating
a
sting ray,' prays
for his
recovery
therefrom to the
deity
dedicated to the Hirota
Shrine near
Sumiyoshi
in
Osaka,
and
presents
thereto a votive
picture
of a
sting
ray
after his
complete recovery.
The
deity
at this shrine was
originally
the
tutelary
god
of a
place,
but,
because of the
Japanese
word for
"piles" having
the same
sound as that for
"place,"
it is
said,
they
have come to
pray
to the
deity
for their
recovery
from
piles;
both the words are
pronounced ji
in
Japanese.
"To
give up
eating
a
sting ray"
is in
Japanese expressed
as "Akaei o
tatsu,"
and the verb tatsu
means "to
sever,"
"to cut
off,"
"break off or
with,"' etc.;
hence "akaei o
tatsu,"
literally meaning
"to break off
(relations)
with or to sever
(one's connections)
with a
sting ray," implies
that it effects a radical cure of
hemorrhoids,
a livid and
painful swelling
formed
by
dilatation of a vein at the
anus.
And
also,
since the
deity
of this shrine is to watch over and
protect
a
place (ji),
he is
regarded
as
protecting
a
person
from
piles (ji).
4. "Fujin
no ashi"
(A lady's legs).-A picture representing
a
lady's legs
with a
red waist cloth is offered to the Mizutsukai Shrine in
Ashikaga,
Shimotsuke
(Tochigi
Prefecture of
today).
This
offering
is made in return for one's
answered
prayer
for the
complete
cure of a disease from the waist down.
5.
"Tanishi"
(Mud snail).-On
the outskirts of
Satte,
a town in Saitama Prefec-
ture,
is a hall sacred to
Acala(-ndtha),' commonly
known as Tanishi
Fud6,
to
whom
people pray
for
curing
diseases without
eating any
mud snail." The
offering
made to this
image
of Acala is a
picture
of
tanishi,
a mud snail.
6.
"Kusakari-kago" (A
basket for
grass).-To
the
Yakushi-d6
at
Tera-machi,
Ushigome, Tokyo,
is
presented
a
picture
of a basket for
grass by
an offerer of a
fervent
prayer
for the cure of an
eye
disease.
7.
"Me"
(Eye).-It
is
widely practiced
in various districts to make an
offering
of a
tablet
on which two or more
eyes
are
painted.
This is also for the
purpose
of
praying
for the cure of an
eye
disease.
8. "Hina"
(Doll).-A picture
of a doll is
presented
to the Awashima Shrine in
Kii Province,
the
purpose
of which is to
pray
for the cure of venereal
diseases."
9.
"Kokue no
ka-hanshin"
(The
lower half of the
body
in
black).-The picture
offered to the Kushida Shrine at Hakata
represents
the lower half of the
body
wearing
black cloth; this is also to
supplicate
for the cure of venereal diseases.
9
To this Yakushi-db
(Temple
dedicated to the Buddha of
Medicine)
a
coarsely
made
gimlet
is
also
presented by
a
person having
ear
trouble;
this
probably
has the
implication
of
boring
with
the
gimlet.
See M.
Fujikawa,
Shink6 to Meishin
(Belief
and
Superstition) (Tokyo, 1928), p.
120o.
-
A
broad flat fish which can
give
severe wounds with its
sharp spines;
it is used for food in
Japan.
4Acala,
known as the God of
Fire,
is believed to have the
power
of
keeping
down all the evil
spirits.
SA
species
of river snail found in rice
fields;
in
Japan
some
people
eat them.
6For
detailed accounts
concerning
the folk belief in the
deity worshiped
at the Awashima
Shrine,
see Taro
Nakayama,
Nihon
Minzoku-gaku Jiten
(A Dictionary of Japanese Folklore) (2d
ed.;
Tokyo, 1936),
I, 55-57,
"Awashima
shink6."
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VOTIVE PICTURES
31
10. "Me no
ji"
(The
letter
"me").-A
votive tablet on which the letter "me"
is written can be found in various
districts;
this is for the
purpose
of
praying
for
the cure of an
eye
disease. The letter "me" means an
"eye."
11.
"Unagi" (Eel).-A picture
of an eel is
presented
to the Mishima Shrine in
Kyoto,
the
purpose
of which is to
pray
for an
easy delivery, slippery
as an eel.
12.
"Awabi"
(Abalone).-They
offer a
picture
of an abalone to the Hanazono
Shrine in Kusano
Village,
Iwaki
District,
Fukushima
Prefecture,
to
pray
for
prevention against chapped
hands or for the cure of venereal
diseases;
and it is
said that the
parishioners
of the shrine do not eat abalone.
The
presentation
of the ema of small
size,
as seen in the above illustra-
tions,
in most cases aims at the cure of
diseases; however,
attention must
be
given
also to the fact that there are numbers of votive
pictures
used for
other
purposes;
i.e.,
for the
purpose
of
praying
for
family well-being,
for
better
fortune,
for
impregnation,
or for control of the
passions
such as tem-
perance,
etc. These
are,
of
course,
the
products
of
superstition,
or the
prod-
ucts of a mistaken belief in deities and Buddhas
by
whom,
people thought,
human
prayers
would be answered.
Concerning
the
origin
of
ema,
it is
generally
believed that an ancient
Japanese
custom of
offering
to a
deity
a live horse as a
present
or as a fee
for
augury
or exorcism
developed
into the
ema,
large
and
small,
of later
age,
gradually losing
its
original meaning
with the
change
of times. From the
archaeological point
of
view,
it is further said that the
clay figures
of horses
discovered from various
provinces
are said to be remains of the transition
period
from the live horse
offering
to the so-called ema
presentation.
These
figures,
different from those of the
haniwa,
archaic
clay grave figures,
have
been discovered from the
precincts
of Shinto
shrines;
hence it is
presumable
that these horse
figures
are the remains
showing
the
change
from the live
horse
offering.'
Besides the use of the
clay figures
of
horses,
the
offering
of a
live horse seems to have been substituted
by
that of a wooden horse or of
a
paper
horse.
According
to
Japanese
literature,
the ema made its first
appearance during
the Heian
period (794-1185):
in the
Hokuzan-sh6, I,
the
author,
Fujiwara-
no-Kimit6
(966-1041)
records that in the seventh month of the third
year
of
Tenryaku (949),
itatate-uma,
a
standing
wooden horse was used in
place
of the live horse
presented by
the Bureau of the
Imperial
Stables because
it had met with an accident. The wooden horse now in the
possession
of the
Hachiman Shrine of
Tamuke-yama,
Nara,
is said to be one of the itatate-uma
used at that time. It is also mentioned in the Honch6 Monzui
compiled
by Fujiwara-no-Akihira
(989-o1066)
that
shikishi-uma,
a
picture
of a horse
painted
on shikishi
(a square piece
of thick,
fancy paper),
was
presented
to
the Kitano Shrine in the ninth
year
of Kwank6
(10xo12);
and this was followed
7 Naoichi
Miyaji, "Jinja
to
K6kogaku" ("Shinto
Shrine and
Archaeology"), K6kogaku
K6za,
XVI
(Tokyo, 1929),
200-202.
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32
WESTERN FOLKLORE
by
the
presentation
of a wooden tablet
representing
but a
horse,
which is
recorded in the
Konjaku Monogatari compiled by
Minamoto-no-Takakuni
(1oo4-1o77).8
The
popularization
of
ema, however,
seems to have taken
place
in the
Kamakura
period (1186-1333), during
which time the custom of
offering
tablets
representing
various
implements
besides a horse was also
practiced
widely;
this is rather
thought
to have
developed
from an ancient custom
of
offering weapons
and the like as a token to a
god.
Then,
from the
Muromachi
period (1334-1573)
to the Edo
period (1603-1867),
the ema had,
fallen into
corruption, having
added
many
other
things
in
representation,
and thus
becoming superstitious.
It must not be
forgotten,
however,
that
there was also the ema
presented merely
as an
ornament;
this was rather
due to the
vogue by
which
people
were
swayed
to have artists
paint
beau-
tiful
pictures,
and so it is needless to
say
that some ornamental ema have
nothing
to do with
religion.
As stated
before,
the ema
may
be traced back to the
presentation
of a
live horse to a
deity
in ancient
Japan;
however,
brief mention should be
made here of a similar custom
practiced
in ancient China which
may
be
thought
to have been
brought
to
Japan.
In
China,
this kind of votive offer-
ing
is called chih ma
(lit. "paper horse"), commonly
known as chia ma. A
live
horse,
as in the case of ancient
Japan,
was offered to a
deity during
the Ch'in
Dynasty (221-2o6 B.C.);
but it was substituted
by yii
ma or a wooden
horse,
which was further
replaced by
chih ma or a
paper
horse
during
the
reign
of
Hsiian
Tsung Ming Huang
Ti
(713-756 A.D.)
of
T'ang (618-90o6).
This chih ma was
presented
to the
spirit
of an ancestral hall. But
later,
a
printed image
of a
deity
or Buddha on a five-colored
paper
was burned before
the consecrated
spirit
of one
dead;
this was also called
chih
ma. It is also
said that in ancient times a horse was
pictured
for
riding
use on the
upper
part
of a
paper representing
a
deity
or an ancestral
spirit,
which is the reason
why
it was called chih
ma."
The custom of
burning
the chih ma in honor of the
spirit
of the dead
seems to have been
practiced
for the first time
during
the
Sung Dynasty
(96o-1279)
and to have been introduced into
Japan.'
In the Zen
temples
of
Japan,
when
prayer
is offered or the Urabon" service is held for the sake
of the
dead,
the
Hannyashin-gyo12
and a
picture
of a
horse,
printed
on
paper,
s
Miyaji, op. cit.,
p.
202;
Kokushi
Jiten
(A Dictionary of
Japanese History), (Tokyo, 1940),
I,
832
a.
Tz'u
yiian (15th
ed.;
Shanghai, 1947), p. 1154
b,
c.
10
Shink6
Mochizuki,
Bukkyo Daijiten (A Comprehensive Dictionary of Buddhism), (Kyoto, 1944),
I,
289
c.
11
See the author's article
entitled,
"The Festival for the
Spirits
of the Dead in
Japan,"
Western
Folklore,
IX
(1950), 217-228.
'
See the author's article
entitled,
"The Sutra of the Heart of
Wisdom," The
Way,
I
(Los
An-
geles, 1949), 2-4.
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VOTIVE PICTURES
33
to which
paper
coins are
added,
are
hung
from the
pillar
of the main
hall,
and are burned after
sfitra-chanting.
The
burning
of
paper bearing
a
pic-
ture of a horse is said to be for the
spirit's riding
use. It is not known when
this custom was first
practiced
in
Japan;
however,
it is believed that the
custom
practiced by
the Zen sect of
Sung
was introduced into
Japan."
In this
manner,
both the ema in
Japan
and the chih ma in China have
similarities in their
early stage
of
development.
This fact alone will refuse
to
accept
the
theory
that the ema is of
Japanese origin.
Furthermore,
during
the Nara
(646-793)
and
Heian
periods, Japan
was
busy importing
and
assimilating T'ang
civilization,
and also the first
appearance
of
ema,
as men-
tioned
before,
was made in the
Japanese
literature
during
the Heian
period;
hence it follows that the ema of
Japan
must have been
brought
in from
China.
Nevertheless,
the ema in its later
stage
should be considered to have
developed
in a
way peculiar
to
Japan,
with the
exception
of the custom of
burning
the ema at the Zen
temples
which was also introduced from China
during
the
Sung Dynasty.
From the
"Theory
of Plural
Origin
of
Culture,"
it must be said that the
ema has
independently developed
in
Japan;
however,
from the
"Theory
of
Single Origin
of
Culture,"
it is
regarded
as
having
its
origin
in ancient
China.
Although
there are the evidences afforded
by
the results of excava-
tions that the horse had lived in
Japan during
the Stone
Age,
the common
opinion
of all is that horses in
Japan
were
imported
from the Asiatic con-
tinent,
which has been also verified
by
the
etymological study
of the
Japa-
nese word for the horse or
by
the
ethnological investigation
of the custom
of
offering
a horse to a
deity."
To
conclude,
the ema in
general
was a
product
of
primitive religion;
but
later,
losing
its
primary
use as an
offering,
it
developed
into a sort of
ornament;
and
then,
especially
in the Edo
period (1603-1867),
the ema of
small size came to be used as an
object
of folk
belief,
or rather of
superstition,
which would
satisfy
one's desire for the cure and
prevention
of
diseases,
better
fortune,
etc.
Thus,
a number of small ema have come to be
presented
to a small shrine
by
the roadside or to a
popular god attracting people
on
account of some wonderful
power displayed by
him.
And,
even
today,
some
dilettanti collect them as their favorite curios. As to the
question
of the
origin
of the
ema,
it is rather difficult to draw a
conclusion;
etymologically
and
ethnologically speaking,
however,
it
may
not be
going
too far to
say
that the horse
offering
custom of ancient China had
something
to do with
the
development
of the ema in
Japan.
18
Tokun6
Oda,
Bukky6 Daijiten (12th
ed.;
Tokyo, 1929), p. 252
b-c,
"Ky6ma."
14 Kokushi
Jiten, op. cit., 674 a;
Shinji Nishimura,
Bunka Idd-ron
(A Study
on Cultural
Migra-
tion) (Tokyo, 1930), p. 323-
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