At the beginning of the year, folks in Japan would flock to their favorite shrine or temple to make a prayer for the up n coming year. There are a few ways to make a prayer and one of them is to write on a wooden plaque called Ema [絵馬] and hang it up in a designated area in the shrine grounds.
Akihabara has a shrine called Kanda Myojin [神田明神] - for the past few years it has been the tradition of many otaku anime fans to draw their fave character on an Ema and hang it up in the shrine grounds together with a wish. These particular Ema are known as Ita-Ema [痛絵馬].
Kanda Myojin Shrine address as follows.
東京都千代田区外神田2-16-2
View location with Google Maps
In 2014, Kancolle was a popular title for Ita-Ema but this year was dominated by Love Live.
These Ema will remain in the grounds for a while before taken to be burned by the shrine monks with a prayer which is said to make the wish written on the Ema to come true.
Have you left an Ema at a shrine before?
If you was to draw a character, who would you draw?
Mmmmm Oppai.
Anyway, I will leave you with a wall of Ita-Ema while I go and prep some photos of the Tokyo snow the other day.
