Omamori

At almost every Shinto shrine and Buddhist temple in Japan you will find a counter offering small, beautifully woven pouches. These are omamori, sacred amulets that carry the protection of the shrine’s deity or the temple’s Buddha, and people carry them through daily life as a blessing for safety, success and good fortune.

A sacred object, not a souvenir

The word omamori comes from mamoru, “to protect”, with the honorific prefix o. Inside the pouch is a slip of paper or wood bearing the name of a deity or Buddhist figure, a prayer or a sacred inscription, which priests or monks have blessed. The pouch is its wrapping; the slip within is what believers regard as sacred.

For this reason, omamori are traditionally never opened. Japanese speakers also tend to say they “receive” an omamori rather than buy one, and the money given at the counter is understood as an offering. Visitors of every background are welcome to receive them, and shrines and temples are glad to see travellers take one home.

Roots in shrine and temple life

Protective tokens from sacred places have a long history in Japan. Paper talismans called ofuda, issued by shrines and temples to be kept in the home, are close relatives, and the portable omamori grew from the same wish to keep a blessing near. The colourful brocade pouches familiar today became widespread in more recent centuries, as pilgrimage and travel grew.

Kyoto, the old imperial capital, is a wonderful place to see their variety. Its many shrines and temples each offer their own designs, often decorated with the crest, flowers or animals linked to the site. Shrines dedicated to Tenjin, the deified scholar Sugawara no Michizane, such as Kitano Tenmangū, are visited every year by students hoping for success in their studies. Other sites are known for amulets for love, safe travel or business, so a single day in the city can reveal the whole range.

Kinds of omamori

Each omamori is made for a particular purpose, usually written on the front in Japanese characters. Among the most common are:

• Kōtsū anzen, for safety on the road, often hung in cars.
• Gakugyō jōju, for success in learning and examinations.
• En-musubi, for love, good relationships and meeting a partner.
• Shōbai hanjō, for a flourishing business.
• Yakuyoke, for warding off misfortune, especially in years traditionally considered unlucky.
• Kaiun, for good fortune in general.

Some shrines and temples also offer amulets in other forms, such as wooden plaques, small bells or little clay figures, and many create designs that change with the seasons or mark a special festival.

Receiving an omamori

It is customary to visit the main hall and offer a short prayer before choosing an amulet at the counter, which at shrines is often called the juyosho. Take your time: designs and purposes vary from place to place, and many people choose one for themselves and one for someone they love.

Receive it with both hands and a word of thanks. Many omamori come in a small paper envelope, which keeps them clean until you are ready to carry them.

How to carry and return them

An omamori is meant to accompany you, so people tie it to a bag, slip it into a wallet or hang it in a car. Carrying several from different places is generally considered fine; treating each one with care matters more than any strict rule.

Custom holds that an omamori’s blessing lasts about a year. Many people return it to the shrine or temple where they received it, often around New Year, and receive a new one. The old amulets are gathered and ritually burned in a ceremony of thanks, often called otakiage. Keeping a cherished omamori for longer is common too.

Shinto amulets traditionally go back to a shrine and Buddhist ones to a temple. If you cannot return to the original place, many shrines and temples will accept amulets received elsewhere.

Relatives and gifts

Omamori sit within a wider family of Japanese good luck objects, from the beckoning Maneki-neko to the round red Daruma, which is also often returned to a temple to be burned at the end of its year. Elsewhere people keep blessings close in other ways, from the red string tied at the wrist to the evil eye bead.

An omamori received on a journey and given to a friend is one of the most personal gifts from Japan. It says, simply, that you thought of them at a sacred place. For more ideas, see talismans as gifts.

taliaris describes beliefs and customs; it makes no claim that a talisman has an effect.