Japanese traditional architecture, Emaden

Visiting Japan, in many Shinto shrines and in some of the Buddhist temples you will see, next to the main hall, racks especially built to hold ema, the Shinto specific wooden votive plaques.

But in several places, like at the Narita-san Shinshō-ji from Narita, the rack became a special, large and sumptuous building. Called emaden (ema hall), it was built in 1861 (and renovated in 1986) and it hosts an impressive collection of very old votive plaques.