In Good Morning Call, Nao and her friends visited the Ikaho Hot Springs in episode 13 and 14. There, Nao wanted to purchase a love volative plaque. She arrived to the shrine only to find them all gone. No need to worry about being in the same situation, you can easily make your own.
A Brief History
A love volative plaque is called Ema in Japanese. It is a wooden wishing plaque for Japanese shrines. They are a custom from the Shinto religion, which makes up 80% of Japan’s population. The ema are purchased at shrines to be hung up and the buyer may write his or her wishes on the back.
During the Nara period (710-784 A.D.), horses were sacred and people would donate them to the shrines. They were also expensive and so many people couldn’t afford them. Instead they made horse figures out of wood, clay, or paper, and eventually wood.
It wasn’t until the Muromachi period (1336-1573) that shrines started to display things besides horses. In the Edo period (1603-1868), individuals could purchase small plaques to communicate their wishes to the gods. Now there is a large variety of ema, to see some go here.
For This Craft You Will Need:
- A small wooden heart
- Pictures
- Printer
- Colored ink
- Glue (mixed with water) or Mod Podge Waterbase Sealer
- Hot glue gun
- Red Ribbon
Directions:
- Find some pictures, either online or your very own. Print them in color. Size the pictures to fit the heart. You can measure the heart with a ruler and use the rulers on the word processor. Or you can be like me and guess. I used a picture from the manga version of Good Morning Call, I also printed some red hearts, and the word “love” written in kanji. I made one for my husband too, with a picture of us (in a pose similar to the manga characters), the word “love” in English and some hearts.
- Place the pictures on the heart to make sure they fit and arrange how you would like.
- Remember (or take a picture) and then remove the papers. Add a layer of modge podge and lay the picture back down.
- Once dry, add another layer. Let it dry and then add one more
- Finally, once all dry use the hot glue gun to glue the ribbon on the back.
The Aftermath
I think it came out great. I really like the way both of my plaques turned out. Plus, this is an extremely easy craft.
Picture for the plaque.