Omikuji, Japanese fortune-telling paper that can be found at shrines and temples throughout the country.
“Omikuji” are small pieces of paper on which your fortune is written, and they are available at shrines and temples. Many people draw an omikuji when they go to worship. Fortunes are described as blessing or curses, and they contain advice regarding things such as health, love, study, and business.
① Draw a lottery stick
You pick the number from the container. Normally they are written on the lottery sticks in the cylindrical container. Shake the container while praying to the god. Turn the container upside down to allow a stick to drop out through the small hole.
② Pay the fee
Tell a shrine or temple attendant your number, and then pay the fee to get the fortune paper.
③ Tie it to a tree branch
After omikuji is read, it is usually tied to a tree branch or other designated place. It’s believed that tying it to a tree branch link the fortune-seeker with a deity, this custom has been passed down from the Edo era (1603-1868) and still continues today. Actually people tend to take omikuji home when it’s good luck and which is totally fine.
Omikuji are normally written in Japanese but you can read your fortune by those kanji-characters below.
● ”吉” Kichi fortunes represent happiness.
大吉 (Dai-kichi) Great blessing – Extreamly good and couldn’t be better
吉 (Kichi), Blessing – Very good
中吉 (Chu-kichi) Middle blessing – Good
小吉 (Sho-kichi) Small blessing – Not bad
半吉 (Han-kichi) Half blessing
末吉 (Sue-kichi) Blessing to come – Not very bad
● ”凶” Kyo fortunes are tought to mean that you have bad luck, while dai-kyo means that your luck couldn’t ba any worse. Some think that getting dai-kyo simply means that things can only get better!
凶 (Kyo) Curse – Bad
大凶 (Dai-kyo) Great curse – Very bad
Unique Omikuji
Eto-mikuji (Japanese zodiac omikuji)
The omikuji here comes with a ceramic ornament. You can pick your zodiac.
Toyokuni-jinja Shrine
Access : 10-minute walk from Keihan Shishijo station
Address : 〒605-0931 Kyōto-fu, Kyōto-shi, Higashiyama-ku, Chayachō, 530
Hours : 9:00 to 16:30
Fee : 300yen
Risu no Otuge (A message from a squirrel)
Squirrels are thought to be the god’s messengers at this shirine. The omikuji comes with a squirrel having a cherry blossom.
Hirano-jinja Shrine
Access : 5-minute walk from Kitano-tenmangu Shrine
Address : 1 Hirano Miyamotochō, Kita-ku, Kyōto-shi, Kyōto-fu 603-8322
Hours : 6:00 to 17:00
Fee : 500yen
Mizura-mikuji
This paper fortune can only be read when the paper is placed on the sacred water. Once the paper is dry, the words disappear again as the Kibune Jinja enshrines a water deity.
Access : 30-minute walk from Kibune-guchi station on the Eizan Dentetsu Eizan Line
Address : 01-1112 Kyoto Prefecture, Kyoto, Sakyo Ward, Kuramakibunecho, 180
Fee : 200yen