O-mikuji

Template:Short description Template:Italic title Template:More citations needed Template:Shinto Talismans

Template:Nihongo<ref>Basic Terms of Shinto, Kokugakuin University, Institute for Japanese Culture and Classics, Tokyo 1984</ref> 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. Template:As of, vending machines sometimes dispense Template:Transliteration.Template:Citation needed

The Template:Transliteration 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 Template:Nihongo and the verb Template:Nihongo, 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. Template:Transliteration are available at many shrines and temples, and remain one of the traditional activities related to shrine or temple-going.

A similar custom of writing a prayer on a specially-prepared wooden block called an Template:Transliteration, which is then tied to an ad hoc scaffold, also exists.

History

Ryōgen (left), 18th chief abbot (Template:Transliteration) of Enryaku-ji

The Template:Transliteration sequence historically commonly used in Japanese Buddhist temples, consisting of one hundred prophetic five-character quatrains, is traditionally attributed to the Heian period Tendai monk Ryōgen (912–985), posthumously known as Template:Nihongo or more popularly, Template:Nihongo, and is thus called Template:Nihongo3 or the Template:Nihongo3, after a legend claiming that these verses were revealed to him by the Bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara (Kannon).<ref name="Irori">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="Busondera">Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

Historically, however, the Japanese Template:Transliteration system is thought to have been modeled after the Chinese Template:Transliteration, a similar form of divination involving a tube full of bamboo sticks and a sequence of written or printed oracles. A wooden container containing oracular lots dated 1409 (Ōei 16) is preserved in Tendai-ji in Iwate Prefecture, suggesting that this method of fortune telling was imported to Japan somewhere before the Muromachi period (1336–1573).<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="Maruyama">Template:Cite web</ref> The quatrains of the Template:Transliteration are themselves ultimately based on a set of oracles dating from the Southern Song period (1127-1279) known as the Template:Transliteration (Template:Lang, Template:Lit; Japanese: Template:Transliteration).<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

The Template:Transliteration became popular in the Edo period due to the notable monk Tenkai (1536–1643), who is credited with attaching Ryōgen's name to it. A story related by one of Tenkai's disciples claims that Tenkai was once visited in a dream by Ryōgen, who revealed to him the existence of the 100 quatrains, which had been supposedly lost for centuries. Copies of these short poems were eventually discovered at Togakushi Shrine in Shinano Province (modern Nagano Prefecture) and widely disseminated. The Template:Transliteration eventually became standard across many Buddhist temples (even those not affiliated with the Tendai school) and served as a model for other Template:Transliteration sequences. Various books explaining the meaning of the oracles were published during the period, suggesting their widespread popularity.<ref name="Busondera"/><ref name="Maruyama"/><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

Fortunes

The standard Template:Transliteration sequence contains the following fortunes (from best to worst):

Other sequences may include additional degrees such as Template:Nihongo, Template:Nihongo, or Template:Nihongo.

It then lists fortunes regarding specific aspects of one's life, which may include any number of the following among other possible combinations:

Template:Nihongo – auspicious/inauspicious directions (see feng shui)
Template:Nihongo – one's wish or desire
Template:Nihongo – a person being waited for
Template:Nihongo – lost article(s)
Template:Nihongo – travel
Template:Nihongo – business dealings
Template:Nihongo – studies or learning
Template:Nihongo – market speculation
Template:Nihongo – disputes
Template:Nihongo – romantic relationships
Template:Nihongo – moving or changing residence
Template:Nihongo – childbirth, delivery
Template:Nihongo – illness
Template:Nihongo – marriage proposal or engagement

Relation to fortune cookies

The random fortunes in fortune cookies may be derived from Template:Transliteration; this is claimed by Seiichi Kito of Fugetsu-Do,<ref>A History of Fugetsu-Do, www.fugetsu-do.com</ref> and supported by evidence that American fortune cookies derive from 19th century Kyoto crackers called Template:Transliteration.<ref>Lee, Jennifer 8. (January 16, 2008). "Solving a Riddle Wrapped in a Mystery Inside a Cookie" "feb 24 2004 how to see your fortune the fortune cookie" The New York Times. Retrieved on January 16, 2008.</ref>