The collection reveals copious ways in which the Japanese try to usher in luck, wealth, and good harvests. They offer sacred mochi to the gods. Flattening it brings longevity, eating it on a kid's first birthday helps the child grow, and coloring mochi red repels evil. People rely on fortune telling, using everything from palms, blood types, and facial features to birth dates, dreams, and even the shape of lingering snow. Folks treat certain birthdays as auspicious, thanks to visual wordplay with kanji. Finally, because turtles symbolize luck and longevity, people use 亀 (turtle) in shop names.

These essays show how the Japanese spot omens in small details. If a sandal thong breaks, that portends doom, such as death or an accident. When a product logo slopes to the right, the item alarmingly symbolizes economic decline. To stave off misfortune, people take measures: After lightning strikes, they chant to ward off bad luck. When a party must end, a host announces this euphemistically, avoiding words that suggest separation or divorce. People associate the 水 of 水曜日 (Wednesday) with a term for "to be canceled," so realtors typically take Wednesdays off to avoid having contracts canceled.

As this bundle shows, ingrained religious and spiritual beliefs drive Japanese superstitions. Prohibitions around chopstick usage govern table manners (e.g., believing that crossing chopsticks symbolizes death). Gods and people are thought to eat together, and the ends of chopsticks are associated with the divine. Thunder might be a divine scolding, and lightning prompts people to use protective amulets. After nightmares, repeating an incantation supposedly makes a supernatural being eat the dream so it won't come true. Women refrain from visiting a certain Japanese island; not only is the land sacred but the ground itself is a Shinto god.