The wooden plaques used for wishes at Shinto shrines are called ema.
Ema are small wooden votive plaques on which worshippers write prayers, hopes, thanks, or requests. They are typically purchased at a shrine, inscribed, and hung on a dedicated rack or wall so the resident kami can receive the message. Many plaques display an image on one side, often linked to the shrine, an animal, the zodiac, or the worshipper’s wish.
The tradition is connected with an older practice of offering actual horses to shrines. Over time, people began offering wooden plaques bearing horse pictures instead, and these gradually developed into the varied plaques used today. The name ema literally means “horse picture.”
Ema are found at Buddhist temples as well as Shinto shrines, so they are not exclusively Shinto objects. Unlike omamori amulets, which people generally carry away for protection, ema are normally left at the religious site. Shrines may later ritually burn accumulated plaques, often during special ceremonies or around New Year. Omamori, hamaya, and ofuda are protective objects, not the standard wish plaques.