The University of Oregon Libraries holds the only know collection of Japanese shrine and temple votive slips (nosatsu or senshafuda) in North America.
The nosatsu prints were collected in the early twentieth century [he was collecting from 1910 to around 1925] by Frederick Starr, an anthropologist from the University of Chicago, who was intrigued by the religious nature of the votive slips and the transmission of Ukiyo-e printing techniques and tropes from the Edo period to the nosatsu of the Meiji and Taisho eras (1868-1925). Starr became a regular participant in the nosatsu exchange clubs (nosatsu-kai) that were experiencing a renaissance during that time and, like other members, commissioned highly decorative and vividly illustrated votive slips to exchange at nosatsu-kai meetings. Starr became such an engaged and recognized figure in the nosatsu-kai community that he was known as O-fuda Hakushi (Professor of votive slips).
The nosatsu images in our collection cover a wide range of themes and topics including landscapes; depictions of figures from Edo-period popular fiction and theatre; shrine and temple pilgrimage routes; seasonal celebrations; mythical creatures; firefighters; Japanese toys and collectibles; and prints showing the activities of the nosatsu-kai members themselves.