XIV - Nikko

Judging by the number of omikuji on this rope, people haven't been very lucky lately.

Omikuji (おみくじ, "sacred lottery") are strips of white paper on which random fortunes are written. They can be found in most temples or shrines, and are an important part of the average Japanese temple-going experience. The strips of paper, folded into small rectangles, can be found in open boxes in the temple area, alongside a box for donations (usually anything between 5~100円). The wrapping paper comes in many different colours, and there are different methods for choosing one, the open box from which to pick being just the first I encountered (and probably the simplest). While looking at all the different omikuji, one particular wrapping caught my eye: the one with the three cute monkeys (which are also the symbol of Nikko). So I picked one from that box, unravelled the paper and ― wow! I found dai-kichi (大吉), great blessing, which apparently is the greatest luck! My host told me she never was lucky enough to find one herself, so it must be quite a rare event. There are 12 possible outcomes, ranging from great blessing to great curse. When the prediction is negative, it is a custom to tie the paper to either a tree branch or a rope on the temple grounds, in the hopes that the bad luck will also be left behind.

Needless to say, I didn't tie mine anywhere.