
Votive offering, in the form of a small rectangle of buff paper rolled into a tube and fastened with a pink gummed paper strip. It bears a single line of black characters. The top two characters read: 'kyouyou' or 'kouyou'. The next two read: 'mikage'. The bottom three read: 'Horyuji'.
Horyuji (Horyu Temple) dates from the beginning of 8th century. It is situated in Nara. It means 'Temple of the Flourishing Law [of Buddhism]'. 'Kyouyou' means 'to have a memorial service' (especially for dead parents). 'Mikage' refers to the dead person's soul.