This paper consists of a comparison of omamori (religious amulets) disseminated by Buddhist temples and Shinto shrines from various regions of Japan, focusing on a cross-examination of those offered in the early 1980`s with contemporaryomamori. Through their nearly innumerable variety of forms and functions, these amulets are a clear representation of both the power of the public to dramatically alter an established religious object, as well as these religious institutions` ability to re-appropriate such alterations for their own benefit. Omamori are organic objects, constantly changing with the negotiation of the needs, concerns, conceptualizations and aesthetic tastes of the public and those of religious institutions. This paper will analyze the impetuses, forms, and implications of changes in omamori, an artifact situated at the intersection of religion, society, and modernity
