Cast & Chart

Omikuji lot 39 of 100

Fire in the Home Village

凶 Kyo, Bad fortune

望用方心腹

家鄉被火災

憂危三五度

由損斷頭財

Hoping to use those closest to heart and belly,

the home place is struck by fire.

Worry and danger, three or five times over,

and loss from money cut off at the head.

What this lot says

Someone counts on trusted intimates, and the home district burns. Fear and hazard come back several times. The final phrase, money cut off at the head, is obscure, and we give the words as they stand with no claim to know the sense.

Fire, repetition and loss fill the four lines, and the book prints Kyo, Bad fortune. Printings differ, and another goes further with Great bad fortune. The verse offers nothing to set against these images.

Held up to the present, the images suggest a period when the thing relied on and the place returned to are both under strain. What does it show you about where you have been placing your weight?

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: 大本作大凶

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.