Paper short abstract:

The omikuji (fortunes or oracles) found today at temples throughout Japan are based on sets of oracular verses attributed to Avalokiteśvara (Kannon) that took shape in thirteenth-century China. In this presentation, I discuss how these omikuji were received and took root in Japan.

Paper long abstract:

The omikuji (fortunes/oracular verses) drawn at temples and shrines are oracles from the kami or Buddhas. These oracles are written as waka (Japanese poems) or kanshi (Sinitic verse). In this presentation, I focus on a set of oracular verses attributed to Avalokiteśvara (Kannon) known as Tenjiku reisen . By the fifteenth century, these oracles had been transmitted from China to Japan, where they circulated widely during the Edo period. These texts were printed and circulated in numerous editions and with various commentaries. In comparing these oracle books, it becomes clear that, while the texts of Kannon’s oracular verses themselves did not change, the interpretive apparatus and accompanying illustrations changed significantly over time. These books record detailed instructions as to how one should recite the Kannon-gyō, chant Kannon mantras, and read out prayer texts (ganmon) before drawing a fortune. By examining these materials, we can understand why and how humans needed and made use of divine oracles, as well as the practices through which they received and interpreted them.