Cast & Chart

Omikuji lot 4 of 100

A Noble's Seal Awaited

吉 Kichi, Good fortune

累有興雲志

君恩禄未封

若逢侯手印

好事始怱怱

Again and again, the will to rise with the clouds.

The lord shows favor, but no stipend is yet conferred.

If the hand and seal of a marquis are met,

good things begin, and quickly.

What this lot says

Someone has long wanted to climb as high as the clouds. Favor has been shown from above, yet no stipend has been granted. The verse then imagines a noble's seal, and with it a sudden rush of good things.

This is Kichi, Good fortune, as printed in the book. The ambition is real and the favor already exists, so the picture is bright with one piece still missing.

Seen from the present, this is the gap between being appreciated and being formally confirmed. Think about who actually holds the seal in the matter on your mind, and what it would mean for that signature to arrive.

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.