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Preparations for 2026 Year of Horse

A giant "ema" votive plaque (R) bearing an illustration of a horse, next year's Chinese zodiac sign, stands at World Heritage-listed Niukanshobu shrine in Kudoyama in Wakayama Prefecture, western Japan, on Dec. 7, 2025, replacing an older plaque (L) with an illustration of a snake, the zodiac sign for 2025.

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Big wooden plaque at Shinto shrine before sheep year

HASHIMOTO, Japan - Shiro Miyazaki, chief priest of the Niukanshobu Shrine in Kudoyama, Wakayama Prefecture, western Japan, shows off a large wooden plaque depicting sheep on Dec. 7, 2014, before the start of 2015 or the Year of the Sheep in the Chinese zodiac calendar. The Shinto shrine is part of a UNESCO World Heritage site involving pilgrimage routes in the Kii Mountain Range.

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Big plaque of priest Kukai set up at Wakayama shrine

HASHIMOTO, Japan - People gather before a giant wooden plaque depicting an encounter between Kukai, the founder of the Shingon school of Buddhism, and Kariba Myojin, the deity of the Niukanshobu-jinja shrine, set up at the shrine in Kudoyama, Wakayama Prefecture, on Jan. 15, 2014.

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Preparation for year of ox in 2021

A giant "ema" votive tablet with an illustration of a cow and its calf is unveiled at Niukanshobu shrine in Kudoyama, Wakayama Prefecture, western Japan, on Dec. 6, 2020, ahead of the year of ox in 2021 in the Chinese zodiac.