Daikichi (Great Fortune)

Daikichi (大吉, great fortune) is the highest-ranking fortune label in traditional omikuji. The accompanying text typically says things like “your wishes will come true” or “the wind is at your back,” making it the kind of result that prompts a quiet fist-pump the moment you unfold the paper.

Where daikichi sits in the ranking

The exact order of fortune labels varies between shrines and temples, but a common arrangement looks like this:

The fact that kichi (吉) ranks below shokichi (小吉) surprises many people. This is a traditional ordering where kichi sits between shokichi and suekichi. For more details, see Ranking of Kichi Labels.

How often does daikichi actually appear?

The seven-step list above is only the lowest common denominator — the set of labels in use differs from one temple or shrine to the next. The Kannon-kuji slips used at Senso-ji in Tokyo’s Asakusa district, for instance, have no chukichi at all: they consist of seven types, daikichi, kichi, hankichi, shokichi, suekokichi, suekichi, and kyo. The breakdown is said to be, out of 100 slips, daikichi 17, kichi 35, hankichi 5, shokichi 4, suekokichi 3, suekichi 6, and kyo 30 — meaning 17 of every 100 slips are daikichi. Many of them are reputed to be kyo, yet daikichi itself is by no means hard to draw.

In other words, rather than hunting for a temple “where daikichi comes up easily,” you are better off checking which label system the place you visited actually uses.

What to do when you draw daikichi

Drawing daikichi does not mean you need to accomplish something grand that day. In fact, the best approach is:

• Keep your usual pace without forcing anything
• When things are going well, be a little kinder to others
• Remember “I drew something nice” and forget about it by tomorrow

The mindset of “I must act now or waste my daikichi” only turns a good fortune into exhaustion.

A word of caution after daikichi

Daikichi is sometimes treated like a mountain peak, with commentary warning that “from here on, the only way is down, so be humble.” That is one valid interpretation, but omikuji are fundamentally a device for receiving “how you feel right now,” not a serious tool for predicting the future. There is no need to overthink it.

On Yuru Omikuji, alongside daikichi we offer labels like ka-kichi (a fortune so good it loops back around) and gyaku-kichi (a fortune that flips into something kyou-like), serving as playful variations on the daikichi theme.

The phrases written on your slip are explained in the Omikuji Reader.