Cast & Chart

Omikuji lot 12 of 100

Gold Under Layered Snow

大吉 Dai-kichi, Great good fortune

楊柳遇春時

殘華發舊枝

重重霜雪裡

黄金色更輝

Willows meet the season of spring.

Late blossoms open on old branches.

Deep in layer on layer of frost and snow,

the color of gold shines all the brighter.

What this lot says

Spring reaches the willows, and flowers appear on branches that have been around for years. The verse then steps back into winter, where frost and snow lie in heavy layers. Gold is seen through all of it, and the cold around it makes the shine stronger.

In this book the grade printed is Dai-kichi, Great good fortune. Old wood flowers and gold keeps its color under snow, so both halves of the verse are about worth that outlasts hard conditions.

Read in our own time, this speaks to qualities that show most clearly under pressure. Think of something in you that a difficult season made easier to see.

A lot is a prompt for reflection. It cannot promise a result, and it is no substitute for medical, legal or financial advice.

The printed text

No differences from the 1684 printing are recorded for this lot.

Credits

The verse and grade were read from the two scanned printings named here. The title, translation and reading are our own and modern.

Our own English. The kana commentary printed under each verse in the old books was not read.