I have to admit, this practice intrigues me. I had read
about it in my research, but didn’t get the impact until I saw it live. It has the Pennsylvania lottery and numbers
outdone because there doesn’t appear to be a financial payback required from
the system that collects money. From
watching, a person pays 100 Yen (about $1 USD), and pulls a stick from a
box. Then the number written on the
stick is matched to the numbers on the little drawers. A piece of paper is removed from the drawer
and on it is written the fortune. If the
person likes the fortune, the paper is kept. If it is not a good fortune, the
paper is tied to a rack. I always saw
crowds around these kiosks, and some kept picking fortune after fortune. Sometimes it takes a few tries to get it
right, I guess. Note the two women in
the straw hats. I saw them several times
during the day…at the fortune telling kiosks.
The booths are on both sides of the plaza, our left and right. Look at the crowds.
UPDATE from additional research: These papers are "Omikuji". The word stands for "fortune telling strips". The Japanese characters (kanji) have the word "lottery" in them. It literally means "sacred lot". The first section has a general fortune ranging from very good to not so good. Here are some examples:
After the general statement there is a comment on finding a new job, love, future health, business outcomes and more in greater detail. Here are some examples:
The part highlighted in yellow is the general fortune. Source: http://zoomingjapan.com/wiki/omikuji-fortune-telling-paper-strips/
I like the process - select a fortune and if you don't like it, there's a way to dispose of it and try again until you get one you like and keep. It's a practice to consider in life - see what you get, then decide to keep it or not, and keep going until you get what you like!!
ReplyDelete100% payoff because everyone has the ability to walk away happy, believing that they have good fortune ahead!
The Secret put in action!!