In Shinto shrines all across Japan, omikuji (御神籤) can be found. Omikuji are a written divination about a person's near future. They dispense general advice about things like which direction is best, travel, business and illness. Generally, they are left out in a wooden box near the shrine with a sign stating how much for one. It's somewhat traditional that they are completely self-serve and actually paying the requested amount is entirely on your own conscience.

After paying, you unroll the folded paper and take a look at your fortune. Fortunes are divided into different levels of luck and misfortune.

Fortune Level Translations

Here's a list and translations of commonly used levels. Most shrines do not use all of the categories.

From ancient times Japanese people have used lotteries at festivals to decide the God's will in important matters. The current style of personal fortune telling paper was introduced in the Kamakura period (1185-1333).

Many Buddhist temples have omikuji as well, but some use the characters 御仏籤 instead of 御神籤.

Itsukushima Shrine Omikuji

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