A question about 依り代 I was reading a few articles about and there's one thing I'm wondering about. Most of what I read say that 'yorishiro' are objects or sometimes people that attract kami. The following is just my assumption because I did not find something that would specify, but, I wondered if the objects or 'vessels' (this is how I would translate in a particular context) need to have certain qualities/certain aspects in order for the kami to posses it? I'm asking this because it might help me with something I came across for which I have formed a theory. Thank you!

Today, is broadly used in any context related to spirit possession, and it can be anything or anyone. It's also commonly used outside the contexts of Japanese _shinto_. It can be a piece of paper, a sword, a tree, a rock, a doll, an animal or a human being. I think it's perfectly fine to use to describe some ritual item used by a Voodoo priestess, for example.

According to sources, the word was invented in the early 20th century by an ethnologist Shinobu Orikuchi to explain a certain aspect of religious belief of Japanese people. It's not a traditional _shinto_ term, and by its nature, the word will not determine what a concrete must look like.