Ema (Shinto)

Ema (絵馬) are small wooden plaques on which Shinto worshippers write their prayers or wishes. The ema are then left hanging up at the shrine, where the kami (spirits or gods) are believed to receive them. They bear various pictures, often of animals or other Shinto imagery, and many have the word gan'i (願意), meaning "wish", written along the side. In ancient times people would donate horses to the shrines for good favor; over time this was transferred to a wooden plaque with a picture of a horse, and later still to the various wooden plaques sold today for the same purpose.

Ema are sold for various wishes. Common reasons for buying a plaque are for success in work or on exams, marital bliss, to have children, and health. Some shrines specialize in certain types of these plaques, and the larger shrines may offer more than one. Sales of ema help support the shrine financially.

See also

EMA

Ema may refer to:

EMA may refer to:

In medicine:

In music:

In organizations:

Emma (given name)

Emma is a given female name. It is derived from the Germanic word ermen meaning whole or universal, and was originally a short form of Germanic names that began with ermen. Emma is also used as a diminutive of Emmeline, Amelia or any other name beginning with "em". It was introduced to England by Emma of Normandy, who was the wife both of King Ethelred II (and by him the mother of Edward the Confessor) and later of King Canute. It was also borne by an 11th-century Austrian saint, who is sometimes called Hemma.

After the Norman conquest this name became common in England. It was revived in the 18th century, perhaps in part due to Matthew Prior's poem Henry and Emma (1709). It was also used by Jane Austen for the central character, the matchmaker Emma Woodhouse, in her novel Emma (1815).

It has been among the top names given to baby girls in the United States, England, Wales, Northern Ireland, Scotland, Ireland, France, Sweden, Belgium, Russia, Canada, Australia, Norway, New Zealand, Hungary, Finland, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, and Spain in the past 10 years. It began gaining popularity in the United Kingdom during the 1960s. By 1974 it was the fourth most popular girl's name in England and Wales. It was still in the top 10 as late as 1995, but had fallen out of the top 20 by 2005 and in 2009 it ranked at 41st.

EMA (Slovenia)

EMA (Evrovizijska Melodija; English: Eurovision Melody) is the national contest in Slovenia to select the country's entry since 1996 to the Eurovision Song Contest. The contest has been held since the country's debut in the Eurovision Song Contest, and has been held every year since, except for on two occasions (1994 and 2000) when Slovenia did not compete at Eurovision.

The contest is organized and broadcast by the Slovene broadcaster Radiotelevizija Slovenija (RTV SLO). The contest was previously known as Slovenski izbor za pesem Evrovizije (literally Slovenian selection for the Eurovision Song Contest) in 1993 and 1995.

History

EMA has been the selection show for Slovene representative in the Eurovision Song Contest. Originally it was titled ‘’Slovenski Izbor za Pesem Evrovizije’’ (English: Slovenian Selection for the Eurovision Song Contest), however it was re-named into EMA in 1996.

After the break-up of former Yugoslavia, Slovenia gained independence and as RTV SLO became a member of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) in 1992, Slovenia was able to participate in the Eurovision Song Contest 1993, for the first time as an independent country. RTV SLO organized the first "EMA" on 25 February 1993 in RTV SLO Studios in Ljubljana, Slovenia. It had 12 participants. Ironically 1X Band was not on the original participants list. However, after a disqualification of one of the original participants 1X Band was chosen to participate in the last minute. The winner was selected by 12 regional radio station juries from all over Slovenia. Each radio jury voted with Eurovision votes (1–8, 10, and 12 points).

Shinto

Shinto (神道, Shintō), also called kami-no-michi, is the ethnic religion of the people of Japan. It focuses on ritual practices to be carried out diligently, to establish a connection between present-day Japan and its ancient past. Shinto practices were first recorded and codified in the written historical records of the Kojiki and Nihon Shoki in the 8th century. Still, these earliest Japanese writings do not refer to a unified "Shinto religion", but rather to a collection of native beliefs and mythology. Shinto today is a term that applies to the religion of public shrines devoted to the worship of a multitude of gods (kami), suited to various purposes such as war memorials and harvest festivals, and applies as well to various sectarian organizations. Practitioners express their diverse beliefs through a standard language and practice, adopting a similar style in dress and ritual, dating from around the time of the Nara and Heian periods.

The word Shinto ("way of the gods") was adopted, originally as Jindō or Shindō, from the written Chinese Shendao (神道, pinyin: shén dào), combining two kanji: "shin" (神), meaning "spirit" or kami; and "tō" (道), meaning a philosophical path or study (from the Chinese word dào). The oldest recorded usage of the word Shindo is from the second half of the 6th century.Kami are defined in English as "spirits", "essences" or "gods", referring to the energy generating the phenomena. Since Japanese language does not distinguish between singular and plural, kami refers to the divinity, or sacred essence, that manifests in multiple forms: rocks, trees, rivers, animals, places, and even people can be said to possess the nature of kami. Kami and people are not separate; they exist within the same world and share its interrelated complexity.

Shinto (disambiguation)

Shinto is the native religion of Japan and was once its state religion.

Shinto or Shintō may also refer to:

See also

Shinto in popular culture

Shinto is frequently a theme in Japanese popular culture, including film, manga, anime, and video games. Shinto religion is at the core of Japanese culture and history and as such greatly affects the outcome of pop culture in modern Japan. The references are pervasive and have significant relevance to modern life in Japan amongst the new generations.

This page follows discussion of each genre with a list of works in Japanese or international popular culture that borrow significantly from Shinto myths, deities, and beliefs. It is not an exhaustive list of the many games, movies, manga and other cultural products that mention the religion or the names of its deities.

Shinto as popular culture

Shinto itself features in popular culture as folk Shinto or Minkan Shinto.

Anime and manga

Shinto motifs and themes such as kami (gods or spirits) are particularly present in anime and manga.