Cast & Chart

Omikuji lot 49 of 100

Toad in the Autumn Moon

吉 Kichi, Good fortune

正好中秋月

蟾蜍皎潔閒

暗雲知何處

故故兩相攀

Just right, the mid-autumn moon.

The toad within it is bright, clean and at ease.

Where the dark cloud has gone, who knows?

Again and again the two reach for each other.

What this lot says

The moon of mid-autumn is exactly as it should be, and the toad imagined on its face sits bright and unhurried. The dark cloud has left no trace. In the last line two unnamed things keep reaching for one another, and we cannot say with confidence who or what the two are.

This book prints Kichi, Good fortune, and the unclouded sky gives that grade its setting. The final image of mutual reaching is left open, which keeps the good grade from being a simple one.

With modern eyes, the verse catches a settled evening after trouble has drifted off without explanation. What in your life is calm at the moment for reasons you could not fully name?

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

Where the 1684 printing differs

  • Line 3, character 4: 1684 printing has 甚.

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.