What an emaden is
An emaden is a shrine building for displaying ema, the votive pictures that worshippers present to a shrine. It is also called emado or emadokoro, and gakuden, frame hall, because early ema were often framed like pictures. The JAANUS dictionary notes that it is unclear when dedicated buildings first appeared; surviving examples date from the early modern period onward, among them the emadokoro of Kitano Tenmangu in Kyoto, from 1608, and the emado of Kotohiragu in Kagawa Prefecture, from 1748.
Because ema of all sizes hang on the walls and beams, these buildings tend to be open between the posts. The emaden of Zozan Shrine in Nagano, built in 1938, has boarding only at the base and in the upper panels and is otherwise open, a simple hall that also serves as a rest shelter.
At Sumiyoshi Taisha in Osaka, the north and south emaden of 1929 face each other in front of the arched bridge on the main approach. They are identical in size and form, with no division of use, and work as a matching pair.
What to look for
In a shrine precinct, a long open-sided building with framed pictures along its beams is an emaden. Most stand before the worship hall or beside the approach, where passers-by can look up at the ema.
Forms vary, and some double as gates. The emaden of Ishikiri Tsurugiya Shrine in Higashiosaka, Osaka Prefecture, from 1960, stands at the precinct entrance as a three-bay romon, with ema lining both sides of the central passage. The 1861 emaden of Aritoshi Shrine in Izumisano, Osaka Prefecture, is richly detailed, its posts linked by tie beams with taiheizuka struts in each bay.
The ema themselves are sometimes designated or registered separately as folk or fine-art properties. Keep the building and the pictures it holds distinct in writing.
References
- JAANUS (Japanese Architecture and Art Net Users System): emado
- https://projects.mcah.columbia.edu/jaanus/record/emado
- Agency for Cultural Affairs, Database of National Cultural Properties: Sumiyoshi Taisha North Emaden
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/heritage/detail/101/00012405
- Agency for Cultural Affairs, Database of National Cultural Properties: Zozan Shrine Emaden
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00005156
- Agency for Cultural Affairs, Database of National Cultural Properties: Aritoshi Shrine Emaden
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00010669
- Agency for Cultural Affairs, Database of National Cultural Properties: Ishikiri Tsurugiya Shrine Emaden
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00015334
Last verified: 2026.10.04