Here in Japan, people sometimes follow their heart, but some other time, they follow a sheet of paper with writings on it.
Of course not all of them believe in this kind of thing, most of my Japanese friends don't believe it either.
Me too, I don't believe in this kind of thing, but hey, if I got a "good luck" or "great luck" paper, I will definitely say "amen" to that! :))
Why not?
Today I'm gonna share with you guys about this "paper".
I think this kind of thing also exists in other countries, maybe they come in different shapes.
How about Indonesia? Do you guys know some kind of "fortune telling" paper or something like that from our country?
So the paper is called おみくじ (Omikuji), you can "buy" them easily in temples.
I can't say that we buy the paper, it's more like, you make an offering.
Simply said, main point of this fortune paper is the top part, where a single kanji is written inside a box.
There are many variations of "your luck" level, but here're some of the most common "level" that are written on the omikuji:
- 大吉 (Daikichi) : Great Luck
- 吉 (Kichi) : Good Luck
- 小吉 (Shoukichi) : Small Luck
- 末吉 (Suekichi) : Uncertain Luck
- 凶 (Kyou) : Bad Luck / Misfortune
- 小凶 (Shoukyou) : Small Misfortune
- 末凶 (Matsukyou) : Uncertain Misfortune
- 大凶 (Daikyou) : Great Misfortune
What about the rest of the paper? Oh, the other writings are about your fortune in detail, health, romance, will you give birth easily or not (for pregnant women), and so many others.
Here's a photo of my Japanese Language sensei (先生/ teacher) reading the meaning of the rest of the paper for us. I can't read it by that time.
I don't know about now :p hhaha just kidding.
It's been a while since my last visit to a temple.
There're also a specific omikuji made just to fortune tell your love life. It's called 恋みくじ (koi mikuji)
We found it in Kamakura, only ￥200 each.
A friend of mine bought it, and he got a 吉 (kichi) / Good Luck.
Good for him! haha
How about you guys, do you believe in fortune telling?
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