Juni-shi Ema

Before 1873, when the solar Gregorian calendar was adopted in Japan, several calendars were used, based on lunar calendars imported from China and Korea. A remnant of those times is Juni-shi, derived from the Chinese Zodiac, which allocates an animal to each year. So even today, many Japanese know which animal corresponds to the current year or to their birth year...

Also related to the Juni-shi, at the beginning of each year, ema votive tablets drawn with the year's symbol are also available in Shinto shrines and in some of the Buddhist temples (besides the shrine's specific ema). Sometimes, the year's Juni-shi symbol is drawn in a cute, manga style, like the one in today's photo...