How To Read Your Omikuji and Prevent Bad Luck
Praying at a shrine or a temple is all well and good, but how can you tell what’s ahead? Omikuji, that’s how. These fortunes have been a staple of temple and shrine visiting for centuries, and are still much-loved today.
Visit just about any temple or shrine, and you’re likely to see hundreds of strips of paper folded up and tied to trees and fences — these are omikuji drawn by other visitors and left behind for luck.
Unless you’re at one of the biggest or most popular shrines and temples in a major city, though, you’re unlikely to get any information in English. Even if you’ve got a decent grasp of Japanese, they can be a bit tough to understand. We do have a little trick that’ll let anyone read the details with reasonable accuracy, though.
We can’t tell you exactly what all omikuji mean, but we can give you the basics. With this knowledge, you’ll know roughly what kind of fortune lies ahead and how to properly deal with it.
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Omikuji (おみくじ or 御神籤) are fortunes, generally bought from temples and shrines in Japan. “Omikuji” is often translated as “sacred lot.” The word kuji means lottery, and getting your omikuji always comes with an element of randomness. What’s the point of a fortune if you get to choose it, anyway?
They’ve been around since the Muromachi Period (1336–1573) and were originally based on collections of Chinese poems. Even today, many will feature a poem that relates to the meaning somehow.
Getting an omikuji is a common part of visiting a shrine or temple, but New Year is the time when they’re most in demand. If you do decide to visit a shrine or temple over New Year in Japan, you’ll probably find yourself swept by the crowd towards the omikuji as everyone looks ahead to the next year.
Although omikuji used to be made on-site, now only a few companies make them. The largest is actually a women’s rights group founded in the Meiji Era over a century ago, who started making fortunes to raise money. Nowadays, the Joshidosha (Women’s Road Company) operating out of Nissho Yamada Shrine in Yamaguchi Prefecture manufactures 70% of all omikuji in Japan.
We can’t give you a full interpretation of your specific omikuji, but the most important part is pretty easy to translate.
Omikuji exist on a scale from good to bad, represented by a few kanji characters. Sometimes they’re read from right to left, so watch out. The exact number varies from place to place, but the most common omikuji outcomes are as follows:
Kanji | Reading | Meaning |
---|---|---|
大吉 | Dai-kichi | Great (big) blessing |
中吉 | Chu-kichi | Middle blessing |
小吉 | Sho-kichi | Small blessing |
半吉 | Han-kichi | Half blessing |
末吉 | Sue-kichi | Blessing to come* |
末小吉 | Sue-sho-kichi | Small blessing to come |
吉 | Kichi | Blessing |
凶 | Kyo | Curse** |
末凶 | Sue-kyo | Curse to come |
半凶 | Han-kyo | Half curse |
小凶 | Sho-kyo | Small curse |
大凶 | Dai-kyo | Big curse |
* 末 (sue) can also be translated as “ending” or “borderline” when it comes to omikuji
** Don’t worry, you aren’t actually cursed! But “blessing” and “curse” are a lot easier to write with all the variations, so it’s a common translation for good luck/bad luck in this case
These ones are the basics, but some places go further, especially in the “blessing” direction. This can be by adding more 大’s, a 特 (toku, “special”) or 超 (cho, “extremely”) in front. So when you get a 大大吉 (big big blessing), you know you really are #blessed.
Be warned that some places might do this for the curses too. Be sure you’re ready to run the risk! In general, though, there are more blessing omikuji than curse ones, at a ratio of about 70/30. You’re more likely to get a good luck omikuji.
Some temples and shrines offer other remixes and additions to the standard outcomes, too. Shimogamo Jinja Shrine in Kyoto, for example, offers 平 (hei, “flat” or “level”) right in the middle between blessing and curse. This might seem neutral, but it’s actually reminding you of the ideal Zen state of mind: not too far in either direction.
Shimogamo Jinja Shrine also happens to be right next to the Michelin 3-Star restaurant, Kichisen. The first character of the restaurant’s name is even the same kichi (吉) as omikuji use! Why not celebrate a good fortune or get started reversing your bad one with world-class traditional cuisine?
You have a choice. Most people keep them for a while. One of our team still has his first-ever omikuji: a middle-blessing one from Nikko Toshogu that’s over five years old.
If you like, you can also tie it up and leave it at the shrine. This is far less common, but ostensibly the “waiting” pun still holds. This time it’ll mean your good fortune waits around you for a long time.
Whatever you got, don’t let it stress or relax you too much. Bad fortunes can be worked into good ones, and failing to take advantage of a good fortune can still put you in a bad situation. Take care!
Ready to find your destiny? And understand it? Omikuji are a great way to participate in an ongoing Japanese tradition, and hopefully get a bit of direction in your life.
If you’re hoping for a bit of direction in Tokyo as well as your life, tour the city's temples and shrines, and perhaps you’ll learn what lies ahead in your future.