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Emas at the Yushima Seidō, with a big basin of water in front of them.
An ema is a wooden plaque on which you write your wishes and prayers. The name is written with the kanji for 'picture' [e = 絵] and 'horse' [ma = 馬], reflecting an ancient belief that horses could bring wishes to the kami, the gods. But emas are not only used at Shinto shrines, they are often seen at Buddhist temples too - a practice that dates back at least to the Kamakura period (that is 1185-1333). And in this case, a Confucian temple.
The name of the place (湯島聖堂 with Japanese kanji) actually just means 'the sacred hall in Yushima'. It was built in this spot in 1690 (there was an earlier temple, founded in 1639, built in what is now Ueno Park, but the shogun Tokugawa Tsunayoshi moved it here). The temple was closely associated with the Shōhei-zaka Gakumonjo school of Neo-Confucianism, state-run from 1797 to the Meiji restoration of 1871. After 1871 the temple has shared its grounds with several educational institutions (and the Ministry of Education, and the Tokyo National Museum) - currently you can find parts of the Tokyo Medical and Dental University in the vicinity, and the school's emblem of a plum blossom is said to derive from the temple. Students praying for success in their exams come to visit here.
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