2023 Kansai Airport "Passing Exam Prayer Oversized Ema" Wishes for Successful Examination ANA Support for Students Passing Exams
ANA's annual event: dedicating an ema (votive tablet) to Dazaifu Tenmangu Shrine to pray for success on behalf of students preparing to take the entrance examination.
ANA has installed a large ema (votive picture tablet) at Kansai International Airport Terminal 1 as part of a project to support students preparing for entrance exams. Many "wish cards" have already been hung on one side of the ema.
Requests are dedicated to Dazaifu Tenmangu Shrine.
ANA will make a dedication to Dazaifu Tenmangu Shrine on your behalf. (Scheduled for February)
The idea to install these ema was conceived by ANA's Kyushu branch office, which first placed them at Fukuoka Airport in 1993, and they have since spread to airports nationwide.
In addition to Haneda, ema (votive picture tablet) are installed at 18 airports (Shin-Chitose, Hakodate, Kushiro, Asahikawa, Memanbetsu, Wakkanai, Sendai, Shonai, Fukushima, Toyama, Chubu, Kobe, Kansai, Fukuoka, Nagasaki, Kagoshima, Naha) and in Kagoshima City.
What is an ema?
Ema (votive tablet) is a votive offering made at shrines to pray for something or to express gratitude for the fulfillment of a wish. Most ema are wooden boards with pictures on them. Unlike tying a fortune, the key point is that it is a "votive offering".
Most ema are shaped like larger chess pieces and not in the shape of a horse. There is an origin for why these omafuda came to be called "ema" (votive tablet).
In the past, real horses were dedicated to shrines and temples when making a wish or when a wish was granted. These horses were called kamima, and as the name implies, their purpose was to be dedicated to the gods.
Over time, however, this custom changed, and by the middle of the Heian period (794-1185), wooden objects in the shape of horses were being delivered to shrines and temples. Also, in the Muromachi period itself, small ema, as we see today, began to be dedicated.
Why is Dazaifu Tenmangu Shrine famous?
Dazaifu Tenmangu Shrine in Fukuoka Prefecture in Kyushu is dedicated to Sugawara no Michizane, and together with Kitano Tenmangu Shrine in Kyoto, is considered the head shrine of all Tenmangu shrines in Japan.
It is famous as the "god of learning" and is visited by 7 million people on New Year's holidays.
Sugawara no Michizane was enshrined at Tenmangu Shrine as a god, and since then he has been worshipped as the god of learning.
The main hall is a Momoyama Period building and is designated as a National Important Cultural Property.
Many students visit the shrine to pray for success in entrance examinations, and it is said that buying a brush will bring good luck in entrance examinations.
Therefore, the temple is very crowded not only during the New Year's hatsumode season but also on Saturdays and Sundays from January to March.
If you have the opportunity to fly through Japanese airports, ANA will dedicate your ema to Dazaifu Tenmangu Shrine if the timing is right, and you can pray for success in exams and university entrance exams.
