Ofuda

In Shinto and Buddhism in Japan, an or is a talisman made out of various materials such as paper, wood, cloth or metal. are commonly found in both Shinto shrines and Buddhist temples and are considered to be imbued with the power of the deities () or Buddhist figures revered therein.

Certain kinds of are intended for a specific purpose (such as protection against calamity or misfortune, safety within the home, or finding love) and may be kept on one's person or placed on other areas of the home (such as gates, doorways, kitchens, or ceilings). Paper may also be referred to as , while those made of wood may be called . , another kind of Japanese talisman, shares the same origin as and may be considered as a smaller and portable version of .

A specific type of is a talisman issued by a Shinto shrine on which is written the name of the shrine or its enshrined and stamped with the shrine's seal. Such , also called , or , are often placed on household Shinto altars () and revered both as a symbol of the shrine and its deity (or deities) – containing the 's essence or power by virtue of its consecration – and a medium through which the in question can be accessed by the worshiper. In this regard they are somewhat similar to (but not the same as) , physical objects which serve as repositories for in Shinto shrines.

In a similar vein, Buddhist are regarded as imbued with the spirit and the virtue of buddhas, bodhisattvas, or other revered figures of the Buddhist pantheon, essentially functioning in many cases as a more economic alternative to Buddhist icons and statuary.

History

The origins of Shinto and Buddhist may be traced from both the Taoist , introduced to Japan via Onmyōdō (which adopted elements of Taoism), and woodblock prints of Buddhist texts and images produced by temples since the Nara and Heian periods. During the medieval period, the three shrines of Kumano in Wakayama Prefecture stamped their paper talismans on one side with intricate designs of stylized crows and were called or the . At the time, these and similar were often employed in oath taking and contract drafting, with the terms of the oath or agreement being written on the blank side of the sheet.

The currently found in most Shinto shrines meanwhile are modeled after the talisman issued by the Grand Shrines of Ise (Ise Jingū) called . were originally that wandering preachers associated with the shrines of handed out to devotees across the country as a sign and guarantee that prayers were conducted on their behalf. These wands, called , were contained either in packets of folded paper – in which case they are called (also ), due to the packet's shape resembling a – or in boxes called . The widespread distribution of first began in the Muromachi period and reached its peak in the Edo period: a document dating from 1777 (An'ei 6) indicates that eighty-nine to ninety percent of all households in the country at the time owned an Ise talisman.

In 1871, an imperial decree abolished the and allotted the production and distribution of the amulets, now renamed , to the shrine's administrative offices. It was around this time that the talisman's most widely known form – a wooden tablet containing a sliver of cedar wood known as wrapped in paper on which is printed the shrine's name () and stamped with the seals of the shrine () and its high priest () – developed. In 1900, a new department, the , took over production and distribution duties. The distribution of was eventually delegated to the in 1927 and finally to its successor, the Association of Shinto Shrines, after World War II. The Association nowadays continues to disseminate to affiliated shrines throughout Japan, where they are made available alongside the shrines' own amulets.

Varieties and usage

come in a variety of forms. Some are slips or sheets of paper, others like the are thin rectangular plaques () enclosed in an envelope-like casing (which may further be covered in translucent wrapping paper), while still others are wooden tablets () which may be smaller or larger than regular . Some shrines distribute , which consists of a sliver of wood placed inside a fold of paper. The issued by the shrines of Ise before the Meiji period were usually in the form of ; while the variety is currently more widespread, of the type are still distributed in Ise Shrine.

and are available year round in many shrines and temples, especially in larger ones with a permanent staff. As these items are sacred, they are technically not 'bought' but rather or , with the money paid in exchange for them being considered to be a donation or . One may also receive a wooden talisman called a after having formal prayers or rituals () performed on one's behalf in these places of worship.

File:Jingu taima cover.jpg, A still in its translucent paper wrapper. This cover may be removed when setting up the talisman in a .
File:Koujin yama.png, An example of a (from Kōjinyama Shrine in Shiga Prefecture): a plaque with the names of the shrine's – Homusubi, Okitsuhiko and Okitsuhime – written in and its paper casing on which is written the name of the shrine or the epithet of its deity – in this case, – and stamped with the seals of the shrine (middle) and its priest (bottom).

Shinto

such as are enshrined in a household altar () or a special stand (); in the absence of one, they may be placed upright in a clean and tidy space above eye level or attached to a wall. and the that house them are set up facing east (where the sun rises), south (the principal direction of sunshine), or southeast.

The Association of Shinto Shrines recommends that a household own at least three kinds of :

#
# The of the tutelary deity of one's place of residence ()
# The of a shrine one is personally devoted to

In a altar, the is placed in the middle, with the of one's local on its left (observer's right) and the of one's favourite shrine on its right (observer's left). Alternatively, in a , the three talismans are laid on top of one another, with the on the front. One may own more ; these are placed on either side of or behind the aforementioned three. Regular (preferably daily) worship before the or and offerings of rice, salt, water, and/or to the (with additional foodstuffs being offered on special occasions) are recommended. The manner of worship is similar to those performed in shrines: two bows, two claps, and a final bow, though a prayer () – also preceded by two bows – may be recited before this.

Other are placed in other parts of the house. For instance, of patron deities of the hearth – Sanbō-Kōjin in Buddhism, Kamado-Mihashira-no-Kami (the 'Three Deities of the Hearth': Kagutsuchi, Okitsuhiko and Okitsuhime) in Shinto – are placed in the kitchen. In toilets, a talisman of the Buddhist wrathful deity Ucchuṣma (Ususama Myōō), who is believed to purify the unclean, may be installed. Protective such as , a depiction of the Tendai monk Ryōgen in the form of a yaksha or an are placed on doorways or entrances.

Japanese spirituality lays great importance on purity and pristineness (), especially of things related to the divine. It is for this reason that periodic (usually annual) replacement of and are encouraged. It is customary to obtain new before the end of the year at the earliest or during the New Year season, though (as with ) one may purchase one at other times of the year as well. While ideally, old and are to be returned to the shrine or temple where they were obtained as a form of thanksgiving, most Shinto shrines in practice accept talismans from other shrines. (Buddhist are however not accepted in many shrines and vice versa.) Old and are burned in a ceremony known either as or , also or ) held during the Little New Year (January 14 or 15th), the end of the Japanese New Year season.

File:Ofuda Arrangement.png, Various possible ways of arranging () in a Shinto altar
File:門前仲町 shrine secondary building 古いお札納め所.jpg, A place for returning old talismans at in Tokyo

Gallery

File:KUMANOGOOUHU.JPG, from Kumano Hayatama Taisha
File:Kajikimen_(鹿食免).png, , a talisman issued by Suwa Shrine in Nagano Prefecture. At a time when meat eating was mostly frowned upon due to Buddhist influence, these were held to allow the bearer to eat venison and other meat without incurring impurity or negative karma.
File:西野神社竈神鎮火札.jpg, An of the tutelary deities of the hearth (), for use in kitchens (from Nishino Shrine in Sapporo)
File:Talisman Against Disease.png, Diagram of two talismans invoking the goddess , the , and the "Thirty Deities" (, ), a Shinto-Buddhist grouping of thirty Japanese presiding over the thirty days of a lunar month against disease, from a Nichiren-shū ritual manual
File:Chintaku Reifu (鎮宅霊符).png, Part of a series of (from the Chinese ) known as or simply as . Originally of Daoist origin, these were introduced to Japan during the Middle Ages.
File:神札 - Ofuda.jpg, and other
File:Ōharaeshiki Shugo-fuda - 大祓式守護札.jpg, posted beside a doorway
File:Ofuda jyuni gatsu nijyugo nichi.JPG, A , a handmade talisman against theft displayed upside-down. This is inscribed with the date the legendary outlaw Ishikawa Goemon supposedly died: "the 25th day of the 12th month" (). Other dates are written in other areas, such as "the 12th day of the 12th month" (), which is claimed to be Goemon's birthdate.
File:Ryogen1.JPG, According to legend, the Tendai monk Ryōgen (left) defeated evil spirits by assuming the terrifying form of a horned yaksha or (right). and bearing this likeness, known as , are available in some Buddhist temples.
File:お守り (2895042886).jpg, Different types of and at Tsurugaoka Hachimangū in Kamakura
File:だるま、お札、お守り等集積所.jpg, Place for returning old talismans (Hokoji Shrine, Takatō, Ina City, Nagano Prefecture)
File:Shintoshrine-battleshipmikasa-may3-2010.jpg, A inside battleship (currently in Mikasa Park in Yokosuka, Kanagawa Prefecture). Beside the altar is a wooden () from Tōgō Shrine (dedicated to the deified naval leader Tōgō Heihachirō, who used as his flagship) in Harajuku, Tokyo.

See also

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* Holy card
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* Netsuke
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* Shikigami
* Thai Buddha amulet

Explanatory notes

References

Further reading

* Nelson, Andrew N., ''Japanese-English Character Dictionary'', Charles E. Tuttle Company: Publishers, Tokyo, 1999,
* Masuda Koh, ''Kenkyusha's New Japanese-English Dictionary'', Kenkyusha Limited, Tokyo, 1991,

External links

{{Amulets and Talismans

Amulets
Exorcism in Shinto
Exorcism in Buddhism
Japanese words and phrases
Shinto religious objects
Talismans