The Year of the Monkey. Chinese New Year started the day I arrived, but you wouldn't know it except around Buddhist temples. This is an enormous ema plaque -- they're normally about the size of a paperback book. You buy 'em at the temple, write a thank-you to a diety, or maybe a wish, on the back. Usually the picture's of a horse. Sometimes you can see great numbers of ema hanging on special boards, near a temple. I think the priests gather 'em all up, at certain times, and burn them in a ceremony, in order to transmit their messages to Heaven. Other sections of this site: Weblog-Home - More Words - Links - Misc - Contact