Omikuji
Paper fortunes sold at Japanese shrines and temples, ranging from great blessing to great curse.
Also: Japanese paper fortunes, fortune slip, daikichi, tied fortunes
At a Japanese shrine or temple, a visitor draws or buys a small paper slip, the omikuji. It gives a ranking, from daikichi, great blessing, to daikyo, great misfortune, followed by advice on health, love, travel and studies. Tradition credits the Tendai monk Ryogen of the tenth century with the form. A slip with good news may be kept, while a poor result is usually tied to a pine branch or a rack at the shrine, leaving the bad luck behind. Many shrines now offer slips in English and other languages, and some sell them from vending machines. Visitors commonly treat them as a light custom, and priests describe them as guidance.