loa_log

I went to Kirishima Jingu yesterday for New Years and got my Omikuji (おみくじ.）Omikujis are fortune strips that are folded up and pulled out from a box to see what your fortune is.

There are several aspects to an Omikuji, so let’s take a look at mine to see all the different parts.

Overall Fortune

Most people will open up their omikuji and look straight for their overall luck. Depending on where you get your Omikuji, what it says may be different, but below are some of the most common:

On the Omikuji that I got at Kirishima Jingu, it showed 吉大, so it looks like I got a big blessing coming my way this year!

The Poem

The poem is a hard one for me to understand. Although my Japanese isn’t bad, these are poems from hundreds of years ago, and the language has changed since then.

My poem read:

“風吹けば

　風吹く

　　ままに

港よしと

百舟千舟

　　　うち

つどいつつ”

I wasn’t able to understand it at all at first, until I looked up others’ interpretations of it online. For me, I think this poem is trying to say that although there may be some rough times ahead, if you accept where you are as is, people and things will come to you, help you and take you where you need to be. Seems very Daikichi to me.

Categories

Usually at the bottom of the Omikuji are some categories that they give a one to two line fortune on specific aspects of your life. The categories may also be different depending on where you get your Omikuji. Below are the categories and fortunes I got this year:

Category	My Fortune
願望 Wish	おもう通りになる　早くて吉 Will be as planned, good to be early
待人 Person you’re waiting for	音信なく来る Will come without saying
失物 Lost items	子供の知る事あり Children may know
旅行 Travel	吉　盗難に注意せよ Good. Be careful of robberies
商売 Business	利益少なし Small profits
学問 Studies	安心して勉学せよ Stay calm and study
相場 Market Speculation	売れ　少しは利あり Sell. There will be a little profit
争事 Disputes	勝つが進むはあし Will win but may not end good
恋愛 Love	自我を抑えれば大吉 Great, if you supress your ego
転居 Moving	いそがぬ方がよし Better not to hurry
出産 Childbirth	やすし心おだやかに No need to worry
病気 Illness	軽し　なおる Light. Will recover
縁談 Marriage	自己主張を慎むこと　誠意が相手に通じ大吉 Be careful of being too assertive Great if they can see your sincerity

Looks pretty good to me. I may not make much money and I’ll make sure to be careful while I’m on the road.

Lesson (Back Side)

Finally, to the back side of the Omikuji.

Here is a lesson from Kami-sama, or the God in Buddhism.

My Omikuji read:

”神の心に叶うて居るか、物も心も使いよう

全てのものは神様から与えられたものである。

授けられた其の物、其の身体、其の心、

決して無駄に使ってはならない。

其の手、其の足、其の言葉、

世の為、人の為に役立つように使って居るか、

常に顧みることを忘れてはならない。

神様の御心に添い、人も物も適材適所を心がけ、

力を存分に発揮させることが明るい社会の活力となる。”

This lesson essentially reminds you that everyone and everything has a right place to be and right job to fill in order to uphold the most ideal society. You must be grateful for what you have, and ask yourself if you have been able to use the gifts that you have for the world and people around you. Hmmm. Might have to think about this one a little longer. I don’t think I’ve found the right place to be yet, but hopefully I’ll get closer to it as I look back at this lesson over the course of this year.

What to do with your Omikuji

Since I got a good fortune this year, I will be keeping my Omikuji with me. But if got a cursed Omikuji, there is no need to worry. It is customary to fold and tie cursed Omikuji to a tree or other designated area at the temple or shrine that you get your Omikuji from. The idea is that you tie your curse there and not take it home with you. Some people opt to tie their good fortunes too, in hopes that their fortune will stay for a long time.

If you have a chance to visit a temple or shrine in Japan, I definitely recommend looking for an Omikuji for yourself. Although many people get their Omikuji during New Years, it is available year-round, and some places even offer Omikujis in different languages!