An octopus to Pass Exams

• Author: Yuki Sakuma
• 05 Set 2008 - 00:00
• Japan
• 1 Comments

In a previous article, I wrote that the Japanese are a quite superstitious people. Today I'm going to talk about two "spiritualist rites" that the Japanese use to be lucky in exams and study in general.

     

There is one "rite" that the Japanese people do that involves leaning a little octopus statue on the desk while studying and this one caught the most of my attention. This little invertebrate can be made found as a stuffed animal, plastic figures, and made from many more various materials, and in plenty forms and colors, but the meaning of it doesn't change. First, you've gotta know that in Japanese the word "Octopus" can be spoken in two methods: "Tako", that is a native Japanese word, or "Octopus", just like in english.
The word "Octopus" is transliterated in Katakana symbols as OKUTOPASU, this word can be read as a little phrase too: in fact, if you divide it you obtain OKU TO PASU (If you lean it, you pass). It's thank to this "wish's phrase" that octopus was elected like supreme lucky charm of Saint Scholars, and it is sold in shops in myriads of forms.

Another "lucky method" to pass exams (studying is somewhat demodé) is to take a trip to the Kitano Tenmangu's temple of Kyoto.
This Shinto temple receives every year really a lot of students who go there to stroke the ox's statue; by stroking it they belive they obtain luck for studying.

In your next travel to Japan you can't allow yourself to forget to purchase one of these indispensable lucky charm octopi. Oh, and if you pass by Kyoto, go to stroke the ox's statue, too! Who knows if that ox's power is a winning card to pass that freaking exam you can't pass?!
There are some who says that if you want to pass an exam you just need to study and that these are only stupid superstitions.
Seriously, though... Do doubt the power of the octopus's - and ox's? Hmm?