Senjafuda

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Senjafuda

Votive talismans designed for the home
Ofuda, and Jingū taima when from Ise Jingu
Votive paper slips applied to the gates of shrines
Senjafuda
Amulets sold at shrines for luck and protection
Omamori
Wooden plaques representing prayers and wishes
Ema
Paper fortunes received by making a small offering
O-mikuji
Stamps collected at shrines
Shuin
v t e

Senjafuda (千社札, lit. 'thousand-shrine tags') are votive slips, stickers or placards posted on the gates or buildings of Shinto shrines and Buddhist temples in Japan. Unlike ofuda, which bear the name of the shrine, senjafuda bear the name of the worshipper, and can be purchased pre-printed with common names at temples and shrines throughout Japan, as well as at stationery stores and video game centres. Senjafuda were originally made from wooden slats, but have been made of paper since the Edo period.

A single senjafuda measures 1.6 sun (58 mm (2.3 in)) in width and 4.8 sun (173 mm (6.8 in)) in height. This gives the senjafuda a ratio of 1:3. A frame is drawn inside this space which contains the lettering or pictures. In 1887, a measurement for this frame was also established as 48 mm (1.9 in) wide and 144 mm (5.7 in) tall.

Ordinarily, the designs were used to commemorate a visit to a temple or shrine and printed with simple monochromatic schemes, but eventually aesthetic sense gave way to colorful variations and designs. In the pleasure quarters of Kyoto, colorful designs were employed on senjafuda and used in place of traditional business cards. This variation is called hana-meishi which roughly translated to "flower business card." Today, the "business card" use of senjafuda is the most common.

Senjafuda were primarily printed with Edomoji, or Edo-period lettering styles, and pressed with the same traditional wooden boards used to produce ukiyo-e prints. Stickers on shrines are often pasted in very obvious, easily seen locations, but a variation on this practice is to purposely obscure the location of the senjafuda in order to protect it from exposure to wind and rain and thus prolong its presence.