Fortunes, Prayers, and Wishes

Shinto shrines are found everywhere in Japan. As the famous Kyoto tourguide Johnny Hillwalker explained, "Buddhism is for death, everything else is for Shinto in Japan." Thus the important ceremonies and occasions in life rely upon visits to shrines. Everything from good grades to healthy babies can be prayer for at Shinto shrines.

Each shrine has a head spirit or Kami. This spirit will listen to prayers and generally has an area of expertise. So some shrines are for intelligence or "a good head" as the Japanese often explain. Other shrines are specifically for women to pray for children. There are shrines for health, for love, for children, and for a good many other things.

Most shrines sell a good few items. Ema boards (pictured) are usually a few hundred yen and quite popular. Prayers are written on the wooden board and then hung at the shrine. At popular shrines, it is common to find many lanuages written. One English board in this picture says, "Please help me to find and accept my path." A little unsual. Most wish for health for family and friends.

Another popular item is omikuji or New Year's Fortunes. There are twelve levels of fortunes. The best is dai-kichi, 大吉. There are five levels of bad fortunes and these are generally left to hang on branches at the shrine in hopes that the bad fortune will not follow you throughout the year. This year I paid 200 yen and recieved dai-kichi. Thus, as my friend Tomo translated, all my dreams will come true, I can easily get pregnant if I want, if I study I will learn well, and if I am not so selfish I will get a boyfriend. Some of these blessings will not be so useful this year but hopefully that means I will finally learn some solid japanese, I will travel to many beautiful places and I will be able to save money.