Hankichi (Half Fortune)
Hankichi (半吉, half fortune) is a somewhat uncommon omikuji label meaning “roughly midway between good and bad luck.” Not every shrine uses it; hankichi appears in the extended twelve-tier or fourteen-tier fortune systems adopted by certain traditional shrines and temples.
Shrines that use hankichi
Notable examples include Iwashimizu Hachimangu in Kyoto and Shimogamo Shrine, where omikuji feature a finely graded set of fortune labels that includes hankichi.
A typical fourteen-tier system (varies by shrine) looks roughly like this:
| Rank | Label |
|---|---|
| 1 | Daikichi (大吉) |
| 2 | Kichi (吉) |
| 3 | Chukichi (中吉) |
| 4 | Shokichi (小吉) |
| 5 | Ato-kichi (後吉) |
| 6 | Suekichi (末吉) |
| 7 | Sue-shokichi (末小吉) |
| 8 | Hankichi (半吉) |
| 9 | Hira (平) |
| 10 | Kyou (凶) |
| 11 | Sho-kyou (小凶) |
| 12 | Han-kyou (半凶) |
| 13 | Sue-kyou (末凶) |
| 14 | Daikyou (大凶) |
The exact ranking differs from shrine to shrine, so for practical purposes it is enough to remember that hankichi sits somewhere around the middle.
How to interpret hankichi
Hankichi is neither dramatically good nor dramatically bad. The most natural way to read it is as a “just do your daily routine well” kind of day.
- Do not expect a major breakthrough
- No need to hunker down in full defensive mode either
- Simply follow your usual process with care
It lacks glamour, but over the long run, days like hankichi are the ones that keep life stable.
Hankichi on Yuru Omikuji
On Yuru Omikuji, we preserve the spirit of hankichi while also offering original labels like hanpa-kichi and hanpa-kyou. These capture the same “sitting in the middle” feeling, expressed in a more contemporary tone.