A question about 依り代


I was reading a few articles about 依り代 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, 依り代 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 依り代 to
describe some ritual item used by a Voodoo priestess, for example.

According to sources, the word 依り代 was invented in the early 20th century by
an ethnologist [Shinobu
Orikuchi](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/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 依り代 must
look like.




Today, 依り代 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 依り代 to
describe some ritual item used by a Voodoo priestess, for example.

According to sources, the word 依り代 was invented in the early 20th century by
an ethnologist [Shinobu
Orikuchi](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/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 依り代 must
look like.

