Japan: The samurai warrior Minamoto no Yoshitsune lands on Hokkaido and is welcomed by diminutive and submissive Ainu, said to be an ema painting from a Shinto shrine, 19th century

Minamoto no Yoshitsune (1159 – June 15, 1189) was a general of the Minamoto clan of Japan in the late Heian and early Kamakura period. Yoshitsune was the ninth son of Minamoto no Yoshitomo, and the third and final son and child that Yoshitomo would father with Tokiwa Gozen.

Despite being a heroic general, Yoshitsune perished at the hands of his allies through treachery; legend has it, though, that he escaped to Hokkaido where he settled.

Ema are small wooden plaques on which Shinto worshippers write their prayers or wishes. The Ema are then left hanging up at the shrine, where the kamii (spirits or gods) are believed to receive them.

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