ABSTRACT
A perennial mark of Japanese religion is the omamori 御守 and ofuda 御札, protective charms, amulets, or talismans. 1 Commonly made from paper, brocade fabric, wood, or plastic, they are worn on the body or placed in a particular location to safeguard the owner against all varieties of illness, injury, and misfortune, or to ensure practical benefits such as material prosperity. Not mere superstitious trinkets removed from “orthodox” religious concerns, talismans belong to a vast system of Buddhist objects that include statues, paintings, ritual implements, and relics, whose ownership or proximity can facilitate ritual and devotion, human contact with the divine, the acquisition of miracles, and the realization of religious goals. As such, they represent essential tools by which Japanese Buddhist world-views, values, and identities have been expressed for centuries.
