Do you know ema(絵馬）？Ema means a picture of a horse painted on a wooden plate. You can see a lot of ema at shrines and temples. In ancient time people offered real horses to shrines or temples when they prayed for special wishes. Later this custom changed; people offered money and wooden tablets with a picture of a horse instead of dedicating real horses. They sometimes painted things other than horses. So tablets with pictures of various things are also called "ema" today.
   This is a story about a strange thing that happened in the Edo period. (next)