Omamori
An Omamori is a small good luck charm, usually available for purchase at Buddhist temples and Shinto shrines in Japan. The most common design for an omamori is a small embroidered silk bag containing a piece of paper, wood or plastic— however, many different varieties of omamori such as stickers or small tag-like ones which fit neatly into the compartment of one's wallet are also available. Typically, they are intended to be carried by the owner as a means of protecting them from various hardships, depending on the blessing granted to the omamori by the Priest or Monk of the temple or shrine they obtained it from.During my time abroad, I collected one omamori from every prefecture I visited (aside from Yamanashi and Gifu), and gave some to family and friends as a way to ease their nerves. One of my favourite parts of visiting shrines aside from the architecture and history was getting to see the various designs of omamori each shrine would have. Many of the shrines I visited had incredibly unique and beautiful designs, and I found myself inspired by them!
…As a result, I created a handful of omamori myself as a series of “adoptables” for my website! While these aren't blessed by a priest or monk, I hope that keeping these with you while traversing the internet provides you with a feeling of safety and serenity. All I ask is that you link back to this page for others to see, save them to your server instead of hotlinking and… don't open them (if you can manage it, lol), since the good luck and protection stored within them may disappear.
Safe travels!
