Celebrate the New Year: Write Your Wish on an Ema (Horse)! (Begin 2026 with Intention, Tradition, and Good Fortune)NEW

Celebrate the New Year - Write Your Wish on an Ema! Celebrate the New Year at the Japan Foundation, Los Angeles with a hands-on cultural workshop introducing the tradition of writing wishes on ema, wooden plaques dedicated at temples for good fortune, reflection, and hope.

Ema, meaning “picture horse,” are traditional Japanese wooden plaques once offered at temples and shrines that are now used for writing wishes, prayers, and hopes for good fortune, health, success, and protection.

Date
Saturday, January 17, 2026

Time
11:00 am - 12:30 pm

Location
Japan Foundation, Los Angeles, 5700 Wilshire Blvd, Suite 100, Los Angeles, CA 90036

Details
• Learn about Japanese New Year traditions including hatsumode, zodiac symbolism, and the cultural meaning of ema
• Presented by Rev. Yuryu Mori of Koyasan Beikoku Betsuin in Little Tokyo
• Discover traditional good-luck items such as omikuji, omamori, and hamaya
• Write your wish on an ema featuring zodiac animals or the Seven Gods of Fortune
• Ema plaques available for purchase: $10 or $5 (limited quantities, cash or check only)
• Guests receive a complimentary New Year’s omikuji before leaving
• 2026 is the Year of the Horse

Admission
Free, registration required

Parking
Street parking and nearby paid parking lots available in the Wilshire district

About the Lecturer
Rev. Yuryu Mori was born in 2000 at Tamon-in, a sub-temple of Kumeda-dera in Osaka. Ordained in 2013, he completed monastic training at Koyasan Senshu Gakuin in 2022 and received priest certification the same year. In 2024, he graduated from Ritsumeikan University and was appointed to Koyasan Beikoku Betsuin (Koyasan Buddhist Temple in Los Angeles).