Skip to content
O-mikuji
EntityQ1069592· pop 23· linked from 573 articles

are random fortunes written on strips of paper at Shinto shrines and Buddhist temples in Japan. Literally "sacred lot", these are usually received by making a small offering and randomly choosing one from a box, hoping for the resulting fortune to be good. , vending machines sometimes dispense .

Wikidata facts

Show 1 more fact
Commons category
Omikuji
Sources (1)

via Wikidata · CC0

~5 min read

Article

7 sections
Contents
  • History
  • Fortunes
  • Relation to fortune cookies
  • Gallery
  • See also
  • References
  • External links

are random fortunes written on strips of paper at Shinto shrines and Buddhist temples in Japan. Literally "sacred lot", these are usually received by making a small offering and randomly choosing one from a box, hoping for the resulting fortune to be good. , vending machines sometimes dispense .

The predicts the person's chances of their hopes coming true, of finding a good match, or generally matters of health, fortune, life, etc. When the prediction is bad, it is a custom to fold up the strip of paper and attach it to a pine tree or a wall of metal wires alongside other bad fortunes in the temple or shrine grounds. A purported reason for this custom is a pun on the word for and the verb , the idea being that the bad luck will wait by the tree rather than attach itself to the bearer. In the event of the fortune being good, the bearer has two options: they can also tie it to the tree or wires so that the fortune has a greater effect or they can keep it for luck. are available at many shrines and temples, and remain one of the traditional activities related to shrine or temple-going.

Gallery (6)

Connections

Categories