Cast & Chart

Omikuji lot 36 of 100

Jade Rabbit in Eclipse

末吉 Sue-kichi, Good fortune later

先損後有益

如月之剥蝕

玉兔待重生

光華當滿室

First loss, and afterward gain,

like the moon being eaten away.

The jade rabbit waits to be born again.

Its brightness should fill the room.

What this lot says

Loss comes first and benefit follows, compared to a moon worn away in eclipse. The rabbit imagined in the moon waits for its return. When it comes, the light is expected to reach every corner of a room.

A first line about loss before gain sits well with Sue-kichi, Good fortune later, the grade the book prints. Printings differ here, since a note says another printing lacks the first character of the grade, which leaves plain Kichi, Good fortune.

From where we stand today, an eclipse is a useful figure because the moon is never actually gone. What in your situation is hidden from view without having been lost?

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.

Marginal note as printed: 大本無未字

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.