Ofuda
A paper or wooden talisman from a Japanese shrine or temple, kept in the home as a protective focus.
Also: o-fuda, kamidana charm, shrine talisman, gofu
An ofuda is a slip of paper or a thin wooden board, printed or written with the name of a deity or a temple's protective formula. It is issued by a shrine or temple, often at the new year, and placed on the household altar, the kamidana, or on a door or gate. Unlike the omamori, which is carried, the ofuda stays in one place. Each year the old one is returned to the shrine and replaced. Ofuda come in Shinto and Buddhist forms. Some, such as those of Ise Shrine, are distributed nationwide. Ofuda also appear in Japanese stories and films, where they seal evil spirits, but the home ofuda is an ordinary devotional object.