The Legend of Mt. Fuji Gohshingu: Takekichi's Story

The Beginning

In the Edo period, there lived a mountain pilgrim named Takekichi. He climbed Mt. Fuji again and again, and each time, the mountain's harshness and beauty washed something clean in him.

A Gap in the Clouds

One summer, climbing toward the summit as he always did, Takekichi was suddenly swallowed by thick fog and nearly lost his way. At that moment, the clouds tore open, and a small shrine appeared before him.

The Jar and Its Fortunes

Before the shrine stood a single jar, filled with countless fortune sticks. Carved into the jar were the words "Mt. Fuji Gohshingu," and beside it, a wooden plaque read:

"When the clouds part, the moon shines clear — everything returns to the sincerity of the heart."

Coming Down the Mountain

Takekichi carried those words back down the mountain. From then on, the legend of this omikuji passed quietly from person to person. No one remembers exactly who told it first. Only those with a real bond to it, it's said, ever find the way.

What Remains Today

Now, one of those fortunes has reached you too. The gap in the clouds that Takekichi once saw was never only on the summit of Mt. Fuji. On the other side of this screen, in the moment you shake the jar, the same clouds are quietly parting.