Skip to content
Pitt Rivers Museum
AboutHire the MuseumNewsletterUniversity of Oxford

1908.82.98

Piece of wood glued into folded paper that has a printed inscription in black ink and two red stamps. [SM 16/10/2008]

1908.82.98

Digital asset copyright: Pitt Rivers Museum, University of Oxford

Terms and Conditions

If you wish to order a high-resolution image and/or licence its use for print or web publication, exhibition, film, promotional product or any other use, whether in the academic or commercial sector of any print run, then please visit photographic services.

Collection type
Object
Description
Piece of wood glued into folded paper that has a printed inscription in black ink and two red stamps. [SM 16/10/2008]
Long description
One of the red stamps is a 16 petaled chrysanthemum, the other is square with an inscription inside. [SM 16/10/2008]
Geographical reference
Japan
Asia > Eastern Asia > Japan
Honshu Nara Kashihara
Cultural groups
Japanese
Person
Field collector Basil Hall Chamberlain
PRM source Basil Hall Chamberlain
Date / Period
Date made: Before 1908
Date collected
By 1908
Acquisition information
Donated: 1908
Materials and processes
Material Paper Plant, Material Wood Plant, Material Ink, Process Stamped, Process Glued, Process Bound
Dimensions
Width: max 83 mm, Length: max 195 mm
Object numbers
Accession number: 1908.82.98 Other numbers: Chamberlain no. 24
Research and responses

The inscription on this object was transcribed and translated by Fusa McLynn who volunteered at the Museum in 2009 as: “Kanpei Kashihara jingu” -Kashihara shrine. [SM 27/05/2009]

Information given by Professor Itaru Chijiwa, Assistant Professor Seiji Hoshino (both from Kokugakuin University) and Norifumi Shimazu (Association of Shinto Shrines) during a research visit, November 2009. The stick inside the folded paper has a thin strip of paper coiled around its visible end. The number of coils represents the number of times a prayer was made. It is quite unusual for paper to be used to coil around the stick, string is far more common. [El.B 19/01/2010]

Notes written on database printouts by Professor Chijiwa during his 2009 visit, transcribed and translated by Fusa McLynn when volunteering at the Museum in 2019: 'This type of amulet is called “Ken harai” (removing evil by sword) as its shape shows the tip of a sword.' [JMC 10/7/2019]

Search terms: Religion, Ornament, Writing, Religious Object, Envelope, Amulet, Inscription

Further items to explore