omikuji

having your fortune told in japan is a pretty big deal - alot of people believe in that stuff. I've seen this old guy a few times on a street corner in kyoto who has a queue of people waiting for their futures to be told. the picture above, however, is of some 'Omikuji' at our local shrine in Sumiyoshi - a long strip of paper you can randomly pull from a box at temples or shrines. you then attach it to a tree hoping that bad luck will pass you by or good fortune will come true. (these are different from 'Ema' which are the small wooden tablets that are also hung but with written wishes instead of the lottery that is Omikuji)

I believe this generally happens at new year, as contrary to popular belief, the Japanese are not the religious devotees the west seems to think. unless you rank louis vuitton as a god (close, but I don't think it's official yet). it's a bit like saying just because scotland has a plethora of churches, the people are all religious. not so - the scottish kirk is now being knocked down to make way for petrol stations and apartment buildings. or being dismantled and sent to japan to host weddings.

it seems that in the 21st century people don't need religion anymore, just a nice place to get married and get some good news from time to time.